Konoha's Guardian Serpent
by Feeruk
Summary: Treated like trash and forced to fend mostly for himself, Naruto finds that he is not alone in the world. Others, while different than himself, have had it no easier. What would happen if these select individuals befriended one another at a young age, and helped each other become stronger? Naru x Hina x Anko x ?. God-like Naruto. Crossover characters later.
1. First Bond

Author's Notes

- I'm going to mess around with the timeline a bit. Primarily age changes (only a few) / events slightly bumped forward or backward in the story. I'll try to leave a comment at the end of each chapter explaining the changes, but I don't expect to have to explain everything, so take this as a general warning

- Most Jutsu are going to be written in English. Some, based on my discretion, will remain in Romaji form. Doing this so I can make original techniques later on. (I just hate typing "spiraling sphere" instead of "Rasengan." It just…makes me feel dirty.)

- There will be mild Bleach and other cross overs from rather popular anime. By "mild" I mean that the characters are, in essence, the same. However, their abilities will be explained via Naruto universe rules. As an example, I will use the Captain Commander. He would be modeled the same and be roughly the same age, and his sword would probably be a plain blade with flames on the scabbard, hilt, and other areas. However, for this particular story, he would be an extremely powerful swordsman and powerful at Ninjutsu, particular Katon style. Other characters will have the same kind of translation.

- I plan to use (a) character(s) from the following anime: Bleach, Sword Art Online, Avatar, and MAYBE at least 1 from One Piece, though I am still undecided. I may add more at my discretion, it just depends if I find any good situations to do so. I've chosen these ones in particular for one reason, I like them and know enough about them to translate the characters over. I don't blame you if you don't like cross overs, but do keep in mind that I'm not going to give them the exact same abilities. If I ever write in Luffy, then he won't be made of rubber, nor would Ichigo be able to blow up a city block with a Getsuga Tensho. Most of them won't play any significant part in the story, but they will pop up from time to time.

- There will be significant personality changes in several major characters in the story. Naruto will be significantly more ruthless when it comes to certain individuals, though I wouldn't classify him as "dark." Expect slight changes for Anko, Lee, Gaara, and some others as well. Major changes in life can result in major changes in personality after all. If you don't like how a character develops, feel free to send a message, but be constructive about it. I'm not very skilled in terms of character development, so I'm definitely open to some critiquing so long as it has the capability to help me out in the long run.

- 2 significant age changes. Anko is one, not going to ruin the surprise of the other. Others will be minor, if any at all.

- I'm going to classify this as a God-like Naruto story. I've debated how I wanted to phrase it for a while, and I feel this is the safest thing to do. He will border between incredibly strong and God-like for a while, but he's definitely going to become the latter as the story progresses.

- Naruto's parings are already decided. I'm not going to change what I already have in mind, so don't bother recommending any to me with him. I also already have Gaara and Lee's pairing in mind, so those are set. Any others, for the moment, are up for debate. If you wish to comment on those, I am open to suggestions, though I may not follow them. Also not lining a pairing up for _every_ character, so don't expect that either.

- This is going to be rated M for a reason. While the early chapters are going to be pretty mild due to them being children, later chapters will show why. Expect rather gory descriptions, no-holds-barred type of speech, and probably suggestive ideas of smutty goodness later on, since I'm still pretty confused on how far you can go without reprimand on this site in that regard.

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**PLEASE READ THIS PORTION**

As my final note, I would like to thank all of those authors whose stories I have read in the past. Without the inspiration your stories provided for me, I wouldn't have gotten the urge to actually get off of my ass and write my own. There have been a great many I have read partially as well as all of, many of which I did before I bothered to create an account on the website.

While I do not do so intentionally unless I specifically state otherwise, I have no doubt that some of the ideas I use within my tale will have been taken from the stories I have read in the past or even ones I have no knowledge of as of it. If I remember taking an idea from any particular author / story, then I will be sure to try to award credit where it is due. If I do not credit you in particular, then please accept this thank you as credit for any work you have created that I have taken the idea(s) from.

While I inevitably cannot remember every story I have read in the past, I encourage everyone to look at my favorite's list if you are looking for more to read. They have all given me ideas in some way to create the one you are about to begin reading, and I would be remiss to not at least try to encourage more people to read them.

Also, a special shout out to MaxFic's "Naruto: Shinobi Institute of Performance Analysis" for getting me to fall in love with Naruto fan fiction in general. I only remembered to add it to my favorite's list a few days ago as I write this, but it was the first fan fiction story I've ever actually read.

**THANK YOU**

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(Notes over, safe to look now. Beta Reader stuff to follow, skip it if you have no interest.)

All of that being said, the last thing I would like to state is that I _may_ be open to having someone function as a Beta Reader for me in the future. For the time being, I intend to keep it to myself as I feel I'm doing at least moderately well. If you'd be open to working as one, then please shoot me a message and I will save it in case I decide to snag someone one day. Here are the things I would like you to answer if you send me a message in regards to being a possible Beta Reader:

Are you good at spotting grammar / punctuation errors? (This is a must)

Can you translate English to Romaji? (Not required, but helpful) ((Please don't say you can and then just use a crappy translator off of Google. I've read in quite a few places that they are terrible.))

How much free time do you have? Might discuss ideas / certain struggles I'm having with the story with you to work out any kinks. If you like the idea, let me know what times you are free.

How long are you available to do this? (Adding in for those who are just doing this over spring break/Christmas break/ etc…)

(Beta Reader request stuff done.)

I think I've procrastinated enough with Author's Notes. So, without further wait, I present to you: Konoha's Guardian Serpent

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor would it be a good thing if I did.

Chapter 1: First Bond

(Naruto age: 5)

"Eat, _demon_. I _promise_ it's fantastic stuff," spat the caretaker of the orphanage as he shoved a plate of spoiled fish in front of the blonde. Of course, it actually had a hefty serving sized seeing as it was likely poisoned to go along with being rotten. This was, of course, just judging by the green tint that most of the slop had to it.

Upon having the plate shoved towards him Naruto just cringed on the inside as he looked up at the man that was at the relatively large kitchen counter. The man was around 5'4 and rather obviously out of shape if the exposed lower portion of his stomach had anything to say. He had a shitty, comb-over hair style for what remained of his stringy, brown hair. His name…really wasn't important, as Naruto had made no effort to memorize it. If he called him anything other than "sir," he was usually beat for it anyway.

Ever since the blonde had started remembering things 2 years ago, when he was 3 years old, it had always been like this. No matter what he did, no matter how nice he was or how hard he tried to befriend others, he was always shunned, beaten, and left to fend for himself. Lately, their favored method of punishment was simply starving the boy. At 5 years old, he burned through food like crazy when it was given to him. Thanks to his rather obscene metabolism, he would find himself being hungry with a usual 2,000 calorie food intake. However, he was lucky if he got a fourth of that throughout a typical day.

"…Thank you sir," Naruto mumbled as he simply took the plate and walked away. As he did, he dumped his blatantly poisoned food out into the trash can, despite the horrid growl that came from his stomach. The caretaker, however, was expecting this and just put on a smirk.

"Well _brat!" _He spat with malice as he served another child who had come up some fresh cuts of sushi that he had prepared for the others. "Since you find it so easy to waste my good food, you can go without any tomorrow!"

Naruto, for the quickest of moments, debated trying to rush him to take some of the food by force. However, knowing that he would rather easily be overpowered if he tried, he simply let his head drop a bit.

"…Hai," Naruto stated as he walked away towards the door that led outside of the building, even as his stomach growled at him again. He had gone for 5 days without food now, and tomorrow would definitely be number 6 after that little conversation.

'_Why is it always me? Why is it __**only**__ me? What am I doing to make everyone mad at me?!' _Naruto asked himself as he quickly came to his hiding spot in the area. Outside of the orphanage was a rather large tree that he had been told the Shodai Hokage had grown when he and Madara Uchiha originally built the orphanage together.

Said tree was, supposedly, designed to represent the idea of hope and a new life for those who were forced into a situation without any of their parents. However, over the long period of time since the Shodai Hokage had passed on, the tree had withered and died over the years. Now, it was a husk of the tree's former glory.

That's not to say that it didn't serve its purpose, as it was the only place Naruto felt somewhat safe and it _did_ give him a semblance of hope by providing that protection. Thanks to being incredibly skinny from the lack of food over the past few months, he was the only one able to climb into a hole inside of it that led into a rather sizable hollowed area inside. It was here that he usually came to hide from everyone else, as no one usually missed him if he went missing anyway. As he was about to drop down to crawl into the hole at the bottom, however, he heard a sound that was relatively common throughout the orphanage.

_Sob_

The odd part about the sound, however, was that it seemed to be coming from the hollow from within the tree that he had thought of as his own. He debated inwardly for a few moments before he shrugged and decided to slip inside of the tree anyway.

Inside the tree was a girl that looked to be right around his own age. She had just arrived a few days ago, so he didn't know much about her, especially considering that they never let him in on the introductions the new residents were required to give which they used to keep him further isolated from the other kids. All he did know was that a few of the adults treated her poorly, although most of them treated her just like everyone else.

She still got to eat during meal times if she wanted to, most of the adults tried to help her out emotionally and help her with others, and the other kids still tried to be her friend. Despite the minor difference in treatment, the blonde hadn't tried to go out of his way to talk to the girl. It wasn't that he didn't want to be friendly, it was just that he thought she would reject him like everyone else in the orphanage had.

"Hey, you okay?" Naruto asked plainly as he climbed his way inside of the hollow. The hole to get inside started as a very small one at the bottom of the tree. Once you were inside, you had to manage to then stand up and pull yourself over a sharp and inclined wall. With the room that was given, you had to either be incredibly flexible or incredibly skinny to do it. He was the latter of the 2 while the girl was likely just incredibly flexible, though she also looked rather skinny as well.

"What…" she asked as she tried to bite back another sob by sniffling. "What do you want?"

"Nothing," the blonde said plainly as he climbed up into the tree and sat next to a small pack that he had hidden inside there, thankful to see that seemingly nothing inside had been taken. "I just come here to hide," Naruto explained as his own tears had seemed to stop completely when he heard someone else doing it. He then opened up the pack and took out a piece of bread, wolfing it down fiercely. He had managed to steal a few pieces of the stuff, so he made due without being provided food by eating a piece every once in a while. It may have been old and nasty, but it wasn't poisoned or moldy, so it would suffice.

The girl across from him simply remained silent, choking back another sob as she sniffled again. As the blonde looked her over, he had to admit that he felt somewhat sorry for her, which was something new for him. She had shoulder-length violet hair that seemed to be somewhat matted and dirty at parts, giving it an off putting appearance. She was wearing a black t-shirt that seemed a few sizes too large for her as well as a loose pair of blue pants along with a pair of blue sandals, though they only were more like flip-flops than sandals with how bad the bindings were.

The most eye-drawing feature about her, however, were her pupil-less brown eyes. Within them, for the brief moment she held eye contact with him from across the moderately-sized hollow, he saw a hurt and loneliness and reminded him somewhat of his own. While he might not be the sharpest person when it came to social interaction, mostly because he had no experience in it whatsoever, he at least recognized when someone was feeling sad from the tears in her eyes. Thinking back to his original question to her, and recognizing that it had never been answered, he decided to ask again.

"So, are you okay?" Naruto asked, with a bit of genuine concern in his voice.

"I'm…" the girl paused, almost as if she wasn't sure what to do. "No…I hate it here." She then broke down again, going into heavy sobs.

Naruto tried to think of something to say, but it was clear through her crying that she probably wouldn't hear him. Even if she could, he wasn't foolish enough to presume she would actually listen to what he had to say. He had been screamed at several times while he was crying, and he was smart enough to realize that while people cried, they wouldn't always pay attention to other things.

Instead, he thought back to everything he had seen the others in the orphanage do in the past. The adults, and some of the older kids who comforted others, were always fond of one particular thing. Thinking that now was likely his best chance, he grabbed the small bag he was sitting next to and walked over to the girl. He noticed her flinch slightly as he got closer, so he just rose his hands and moved slower. He had also seen the adults here take that approach with kids who would run from them.

He slowly moved to her left side and sat down next to her, not really doing anything but listening to her cry more. He wanted to help her, to help someone somehow, to show that he wasn't the monster people called him. Thinking that he might be able to do that if he helped this girl somehow, he quickly turned and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, effectively pulling her in for a hug.

He immediately felt her struggle to push him away, but he ignored it because he knew that it was something he would do to a stranger as well if they randomly hugged them. The look in her eyes earlier matched his own, they were the ones that only belonged to someone who had struggled to survive. They were ones that showed pain, loneliness, and misery. Even if she only knew it to a mild level compared to him, the fact was that it was still there. After a few long moments of her trying to push him away, he remembered something that he had heard one of the people that helped around the orphanage said to a boy he was trying to comfort.

"It's okay," Naruto whispered softly. "It's okay. I just want to help, I'm not going to hurt you." After he uttered that statement, he felt the shoves on him stop even as the girl's body seemed to relax somewhat before her sobs renewed themselves and she buried her face into the flimsy orange shirt he was wearing.

Around 15 minutes later, the girl's sobs finally managed to die down a bit. From the look of the light coming into the portion of the tree from the small holes at the top through the bark, it was getting pretty late in the afternoon. Probably around 5 or 6, if the blonde had to take a guess, since they ate dinner rather early.

"Feel better?" Naruto asked as the girl finally pulled away a little bit. A sniffle echoed through the tree in initial response.

"Yes…thank you," she responded after a few moments to recover her voice. As a new noise echoed through the tree slightly, her cheeks blushed a bit as she looked down in anger at her stomach.

Wincing at hearing that, knowing all too well what it was like, and after feeling how badly the girl's rib bones stuck out of her skin through the hug, the blonde came to a decision. He reached into his pack and took out the 4 meager pieces of bread he managed to take a few days ago and handed them to her.

"You'll feel better if you eat a little," he said even as his stomach growled out in protest.

"Ah, but you're hungry too!" the girl responded, feeling torn with herself. The instinctual part of her told her to take the food while she still could, but something about the boy in front of her brought out a genuine concern she hadn't felt for years. She had lived a lonely life before she was brought to the orphanage, so she wasn't used to others caring for her. As nice as most of the people at the orphanage tried to be to her, she also caught the glimmers in their eye occasionally when they remembered just whose daughter she was. Suffice it to say, she didn't trust any of them.

"I'll be fine," Naruto said with a sad smile, knowing he would actually suffer for a while as a result unless he managed to steal something again. He had felt so guilty doing it, that his stomach almost filled with bile anytime he thought about the bread anyway. "I know you haven't come to dinner for the last few days, and they won't give you any once it is put away, so you can have some. It's kind of nasty, but it's better than nothing." He then zipped up the now-empty bag and tossed it across the hollow.

The blonde couldn't help but find himself smiling as the girl devoured the 4 pieces of bread with gusto. If anyone had offered him food like that, he knew he wouldn't have hesitated either. The fact that she had at least given concern towards him had turned his mood around for the better anyway.

"Thank you," the girl said after a contented sigh as the bread traveled down into her stomach. "You were right about it being nasty though. Why would you eat that stuff?"

"I'm sure you'll find out soon enough," Naruto said, not wanting to have her run away from him just yet.

The blonde merely scratched the back of his head in a nervous habit he would soon completely develop into as he looked at her thoughtful expression. "You're welcome for the bread though. Oh, my name is Uzumaki Naruto by the way!"

The girl watched as he reached his hand out in a friendly gesture towards her with a wide grin on his face, even as his left hand continued to scratch the back of his head. She was still a bit hesitant after everything she had been through on the streets, but this seemed to be the nicest person she had met so far. After a few moments of consideration, she reached her hand out and grabbed his with a small smile of her own.

"My name is Anko. Mitarashi Anko."

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Okay, so not really a whole lot to say on this chapter. Obviously you get to see that he's going to be treated like trash in the orphanage, as a lot of other fan fictions stories portray as well, so I really think that's more of a general idea you can take to the story instead of giving credit to any one individual.

Pretty sure the thing with the tree is original, as I don't remember ever reading anything quite like it in any other story before. If you're having trouble getting a mental image of how they get into the tree hollow, then imagine having to put yourself flat on the ground one way or the other to slide inside. Once you're inside, you have to push yourself up in a rather tight space, so no adult will ever really be able to get into it. Once you've managed to push yourself up, there's a certain ledge you can grab to pull yourself up to a small hole that leads into a large, spherical hollow in the tree. That's where he and Anko have their conversation.

Anko is treated somewhat poorly, but nowhere near as poorly as Naruto is. Orochimaru was a bastard, but not the thing that killed hundreds of Konoha shinobi on a single night. People can also relate to having a father who is a bastard more than having a demon sealed into your gut. I've read stories where they're treated the same, but I just don't think that'd be the case. Personal opinion I guess.

So, because of the first meeting, Anko's personality will be a bit different around Naruto. You can still expect cocky/sassy Anko, but she will be significantly more honest and open when it's just the two of them. On top of that, the side that likes to flirt with pretty much every guy will be gone as well, though that's not 100% decided yet.

**For those who have skill in art, I'm looking for an image of a snake for the proper photo next to the story. If you can draw one, have made one, or would be interested in making one, please get ahold of me. Thanks!**

Whelp, that's it. Thanks for reading if you've made it this far, sorry it's still relatively boring thus far. Please don't hesitate to review if you'd like, just please make it constructive. See you all next time!

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List of Edits:

12/13/2013: Fixed a few comma / grammar mistakes.


	2. A Youthful Introduction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and it's a good thing I don't.

Chapter 2: A Youthful Introduction

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2 weeks had passed since Anko and Naruto had first met, and it was the best 2 weeks Naruto had ever experienced.

After his initial meeting with Anko, things had gotten a bit better for them both. They were still treated like garbage, but they actually had someone to talk to now. There still seemed to be 1 or 2 people who openly detested the purple-haired girl, though they only came around on Fridays. Naruto, however, still remained the same in that regard.

Of course, during the 2 weeks, the adults had done everything they possibly could to pull the girl away from the blonde. It didn't succeed, but it certainly wasn't for lack of trying. For the most part it was only verbal warnings, though they threatened to cut her off from food if she ever shared food with him. After she got caught doing it once and went without food for 2 days, Naruto never let her do it again.

Anko hated it, but there was nothing she could do to make him stop being stubborn. Angry as she was at him for not eating, she was also secretly happy that someone would go so far for her now. It only enforced the opinion of calling the adults who tried to push them apart idiots.

All things said, they just made each other's lives more enjoyable. Having someone your own age to talk and do things with does wonders for the mind, who would've thought? The other kids often invited Anko to come and play with them, but she usually turned them down. She took them up on an offer a few times, but she sincerely preferred Naruto's company over theirs, even if the blonde didn't do much.

The dynamic duo currently found themselves leaning against what they had dubbed "the base" which was just the tree with the hollowed area inside. In particular, they were looking towards a boy who was simply swinging by himself while discussing him back and forth.

"I heard he came in a few days ago," Anko stated in the same outfit she almost always wore. "The adults talk to him all the time, but the kids all stay away because they say he has some sort of disease that affects his chakra, whatever that means."

"Didn't the idiots say that no one could catch it though?" Naruto said, now referring to the adults as "idiots" in general.

"That's what I heard," Anko said truthfully. "I think he said during the introduction that his name was Lee. He seemed pretty normal, but everyone else just ignores him except the adults."

"We should at least try to talk to him then," Naruto said as he stood up and gave her a smile.

"Why?" Anko asked. "I mean, I _can_ talk to the other kids, but I generally don't like them. I honestly prefer it when it's just you and me."

"…Because…" Naruto said somewhat skittishly, somewhat afraid of scaring his only friend away by disagreeing with her. "I-I was scared to talk to a-anyone before I met you. If I didn't do that, then I'd still be all by myself…"

Anko immediately felt the guilt from what she had suggested before. Naruto was right. Talking to one another had made them a lot happier than they were before, so they _should_ at least try to talk to the boy.

"Alright," the violet-haired girl said as she stood up. "Lead the way, Blondie!"

Naruto simply smiled warmly at the nickname she had given him. She seemed to like giving them to everyone, which he had to admit was rather neat. If anything, she was usually rather…creative in her names at the very least.

The two 5 year olds approached the boy who was sitting on the swing. Upon closer inspection, one would notice that he was wearing traditional Chinese garb. He wore a light-green, button-up style of shirt with white cuffs that tied with strings instead of actually buttoning up to the top. Along with the vest, he wore a pair of loose, black pants with a pair of common blue sandals. You could also see that he had a relatively lengthy braid on the back of his hair that traveled down to the top of his shoulders. Though they couldn't see it yet, the boy also had rounded black eyes with prominent lower eyelashes along with incredibly thickened eyebrows.

"Hey," Naruto said softly as he came up to the side of the boy and sat on an empty swing even as Anko did the same on his other side.

"Hello," the boy responded in a depressed tone of voice as he continued to look at the ground beneath him.

"…Nice…hair?" Anko stated, trying to make some sort of conversation.

The black-haired boy on the swing just continued to stare at the ground, not even budging in the swing or responding to Anko in the least.

Naruto looked over and saw a bit of frustration in Anko's eyes, but he calmed her slightly with a subtle shake of his head.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto," the blonde began as he pointed to himself after catching Lee's glance towards him. "The pretty girl on your side there is Mitarashi Anko. She can make you really mad sometimes, but she's really nice."

Anko pouted a little bit on the side, having been told that she can make others mad. However, she brightened slightly when she realized that her friend had actually complimented her.

"What's your name?" Naruto continued, trying to draw him into a bit of conversation.

"I…I'm Rock Lee," the boy said, turning his head to the blonde and giving him the smallest of smiles. He then turned and did the same to Anko. "I am sorry I come across as rude. My parents…." Lee seemed to freeze as he brought the subject up, feeling a familiar lump in his throat. He had spoken to the people here about their deaths…but it just took time to recover. The fact that no kids his age had tried to help him, even though they would admit they knew the same pain, was heart wrenching. Yet here were two people willing to help him, and he couldn't seem to bring himself to talk again through the lump he felt in his throat when he tried to speak about it.

"It's okay, Lee," Naruto said as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder at seeing the boy's face contort in an effort to not cry. He was uncomfortably familiar with that face for such a young age. "Everyone here has done it. You don't have to try to hide it."

At this, Lee's face sunk down so that no one would at least actually see his eyes, as his body began to shake with light sobs. However, to his credit, not a sound came from the boy aside from a sniffle or two. After several minutes of just sitting next to him while Naruto patted him on the shoulder for support every once in a while, the boy's head rose after he ran a sleeve over his eyes to clear the tears.

"You have my thanks," Lee said in a slightly shaky voice as he turned to the blonde but quickly over to Anko as well. "Really, thank you, both of you. My…parents have always made sure that I had very nice manners. It is nice to see that I am not the only nice one here."

"You're welcome, even though I didn't really do much," Anko said on the side with a shrug. "You should really thank Blondie over there, Bushy Brows."

Naruto couldn't help but crack a smile at the nickname, but he managed to contain his giggling for the time being.

"Hey!" Lee responded as he turned towards her with a mild scowl on his face. "They aren't that bad!" Even though he was speaking with a bit of frustration, it was clear that his mood had gone up rather drastically from what it was before.

"…Yeah they are," Anko responded after only a slight pause.

At this, Lee returned to his usual position and crossed his arms with a bit of a pout on his face. "Are not."

Anko just grinned a bit, having seemingly brought him out of his funk. "Are too," she whispered as Lee groaned.

"So…how did you two end up here?" Lee asked, hoping to learn more about the two. However, both of what he would call his new friends froze at the question.

"I…" Naruto began, not having spoken to anyone about this before. Anko and he had asked each other about the topic before, but they had always ignored the question or managed to avoid it somehow. "I never knew my parents."

"What do you mean?" Lee asked, sincerely curious.

"I've been in the orphanage as long as I can remember," the blonde began as both Anko and Lee watched him with interest. "This has been the only place I have ever seen. I don't know who my parents are because no one ever told me."

"Don't you at least have a picture of them or something?" Anko asked softly from Lee's side.

"No," the blonde responded immediately. "I don't own anything of my own."

At this, Lee and Anko's eyes widened. It was one thing to say that you had never known a parent, but to know neither of them and have nothing left behind seemed…weird. It also made them both realize that they would at least have memories of the ones they had loved, even if they were mostly bad ones in Anko's case.

"I…" Anko began, debating whether or not she wanted to tell them the secret she was informed of before she came to the orphanage. "I lived with my mom. She was really nice….until she started buying something an old man told me was called drugs. After that…she just didn't do anything with me anymore. One day she left the apartment and just never came back."

Naruto's eyes widened at hearing his first friend's story, and he couldn't help but feel a bit sad for her. Lee, similarly, was starting to feel a little guilty for bothering these two with his own problems when theirs were so much worse.

"My dad," Anko continued after making her decision, "is a bastard. I'm…the daughter of Orochimaru."

Lee and Naruto both just cocked their heads to the side, never having heard of him.

"He's apparently a bad guy," Anko explained with a sad smile, not remembering the exact word that the old man she spoke to had used to describe him. "People usually hate me after they find out."

"So?" Naruto asked, drawing both of the others' attention to himself. "People shouldn't treat you different because of something you can't change. If I could, I would've been made the son of some amazing ninja, then no one would mess with me! I'm sure if you could choose, that you wouldn't want the guy to be your dad."

At this, Anko simply smiled widely at her blonde friend and nodded enthusiastically. She had secretly been afraid that he would judge her based on her father, but she was happy to have the weight off of her shoulders and to know that his opinion of her hadn't changed.

"I agree," Lee stated as he looked to Naruto followed by Anko. "People shouldn't judge you based on something you can't change."

The violet-haired girl grinned and nodded again at Lee. "I like you already, Bushy Brows!"

"They are not bushy!" Lee shouted with a pout as Anko laughed loudly and even Naruto couldn't contain a few chuckles from coming out.

After a few minutes of playful talking back and forth, they finally settled down just as they were before.

"My parents…" Lee began as he pushed his legs along to swing a little, as the other two matched him. "I loved both of my parents," he admitted without shame. "I wouldn't change them even if I could. My mom died when I was a baby, so it was just me and my dad until about a week ago."

Lee then paused, a lump in his throat again as he thought about his father.

"Then, a week ago today, my dad killed himself."

The group kept swinging slowly, Naruto and Anko not knowing exactly what to say and Lee simply struggling to not lose control and cry again.

"I'm sorry, Lee," Naruto said softly.

"Me too," Anko said.

"It's….it is alright," Lee said with a sniffle as he looked up with what was obviously a faked smile, though there was some genuineness behind it. "It is out of my hands now, as my dad would have said. At the very least, I have new friends to help me get over it."

Naruto and Anko smiled towards the boy as he turned to each of them individually, even as he stuck his hand out straight forward and stopped swinging.

Naruto, thinking he understood, reached his hand out and placed it atop Lee's. Turning and seeing Lee nod, he smiled at having actually gotten the idea even as he felt Anko's hand settle gently on top of his own.

"Friends?" Lee asked, giving them a chance to back out if they wanted.

"Friends," Naruto immediately responded.

"Friends," Anko repeated, happy to have met someone who seemed almost as nice as the blonde. The boy may have been about a year older, but he seemed to fit in with them well. "As your friend though, I have a question."

Lee turned to Anko with a curious look on his face even as Naruto's eyes leveled on her own questioningly. However, after seeing her grin mischievously as he had seen her do several times in the past, he knew where this was headed.

"How did they get so bushy?" Anko asked, even as a small tick mark grew over Lee's right eye.

"They are not bushy!" Lee shouted, even as the caretaker came out of the building and shouted for everyone to come inside seeing as it was getting later in the afternoon.

'_I can already tell that these two will be fun,' _Naruto thought with a smile as he got off of the swing and walked towards the building.

* * *

(Meanwhile, in the council chambers)

"Truth be told, I don't care for all of this bullshit anymore. I have made my decision, and as such, speaking about it any further would be a waste of time." Hiruzen stated with authority.

"But Hokage-sama!" A member of the civilian council named Mebuki Haruno shouted as she attempted to stand up and make her opinion known. She was a larger woman with distinctively pink hair. Despite her extra weight, however, she would usually be regarded as rather attractive. Regardless, she had chosen the wrong day to try to speak her mind in her usual shrilly voice.

"**SIT. DOWN.**" Hiruzen demanded as he leaked an amazing amount of killing intent towards the council members. He had been talking with them about this particular topic for months without making progress. He was patient, Kami knows he was far too patient with them. However, judging from even Danzo sweating a bit from his side, people knew he was serious now. When the Sandaime Hokage was serious, people very rarely attempted to stand in his way.

"The Kazekage has been **more** than co-operative with this trade. In exchange for declining a mere half of the Wind Daimyo's mission load to us and suggesting Suna instead, we gain a **major** military and political advantage over them. He knows it, I know it, and this **entire council **knows it." Hiruzen took a moment to look among the faces of everyone, glad to see everyone was taking him with the utmost seriousness.

"We gain not 1, but 3 of his children for Kami's sake! One of them being their damn Jinchūriki!" Hiruzen shouted, thinking of the young blonde that he wished desperately to see sometime soon when he could get free of his workload.

"That's the pro-" Mebuki began to say.

"**THIS DAMNED COUNCIL AND THEIR DISRESPECT TOWARDS ME AND IDIOTIC HATRED OF AN INNOCENT CHILD IS THE PROBLEM, COUNCILER! SPEAK OUT OF PLACE AGAIN, AND YOU WILL BE REMOVED. PERMANENTLY." **Hiruzen stated, taking no small amount of pleasure in seeing her stumble back into her seat and struggle to breath. He took a deep breath to attempt to calm himself before he spoke again. "Suna is obviously in dire need if he's willing to go that far, and I for one am not about to hurt an allied member of The Big Five just because of some damned prejudice that you idiots all have against a child who has no choice but to be the prisoner holding a demon at bay."

"File!" Hiruzen snapped as Danzo immediately handed him the one in question that he had been holding.

He took out individual papers and began signing/filling them out appropriately even as the councilors sat in awe of the Hokage. He was known as God of Shinobi for his time for a reason, but he had never really shown that to anyone within the room save his old teammates. This particular issue hit a sore spot for him. Some realized it, other idiotic ones did not. Regardless, he would have his way in this. Konoha was a dictatorship, not a democracy. The council may hold some amount of power within the village, but he had plenty of loopholes to work around. It was just that doing so too often resulted in villagers thinking he was power-hungry, which was a rumor he did **not** want spread anywhere.

Glancing up and seeing some of the council looking noticeably intimidated, he looked back down to his paperwork as if maintaining the façade that he would be doing what he did next every day.

"I believe that his children will be within Konoha in around a month, give or take a week before the Kyubi festival. I have already received an offer from 2 clans to adopt one of the individuals that are coming in. As such, I'm going to grant those requests. Kankurō will be put into custody of the Nara clan while Temari will be put into the custody if the Aburame. I hold absolutely no hope that Gaara will be accepted into one of your clan homes, so I intend to put him into the orphanage since I don't want to have to go around all of you **again** by getting him an apartment."

Many of the council nodded, having already expected something like this.

"I will advise the _esteemed_ members of the council once on this issue. _**Do. Not. Fuck. With. Him," **_Hiruzen stated as he leaked out more and more killing intent with each word. "You have all had some sort of issue with our own Jinchūriki, and I have been somewhat lenient in punishments. However, anyone that attempts to harm the boy will be spending the next day with Ibiki, any questions on that regard?

The council, seeing how serious he was, simply accepted what he said wordlessly. Any ideas that were being formed about screwing with Suna's jinchūriki were immediately thrown out of the window.

"Dismissed," Hiruzen said flatly as he stood up with the file in-hand. He heard Danzo walking behind him, and knew he would have to have a discussion with the man, and he already had a hunch of what it was about. Moving to the door, he simply sighed as he grabbed the handle.

'_I'm getting too old for this shit, maybe I need to get in touch with my "Flames of Youth" like Gai keeps telling me to.' _Thinking back to the green spandex wearing Jonin, the Kage shivered in horror at the thought of himself clad in green spandex. _'Nope, never mind. My mistake.'_

* * *

So, I personally enjoyed writing this chapter. I always liked to picture Lee having rather bushy eyebrows from the start, so that's the way I'm doing it. You won't see a whole lot of Lee interaction until quite a bit later on, so don't expect too much more on that front. You can probably take a guess as to who the next chapter is going to introduce, and you'll probably be right.

Anyway, just going to keep this relatively short. Don't hesitate to review if you would like to, especially if you spot me making common grammar / punctuation mistakes. As always, just keep it constructive so I can learn from it.

On a personal level, I feel like my Naruto's personality feels a bit…bland? I guess that's the most appropriate term I'm looking for in this situation anyway. Since he was treated even more harshly than Canon when he was younger, that happy and care free side of him was somewhat stamped out. As a result, he'd kind of a blank slate right now. He'll develop a bit more, but he's really going to be more of a silent / protective / smart-ass type of person in the long run, at least that's what I currently have planned. THINGS COULD CHANGE MAN! YOU NEVER KNOW!

Also, Hiruzen. I **really** tend to dislike stories where the council wields full control over the Hokage. Basically, in what I'm writing, the Hokage has the authority to do pretty much whatever the fuck he wants save a few things that the Daimyo has to sign off on. (Acts of war, major political dealings, etc etc.) The council is really there more as an advisory role, but also to take care of smaller issues as well. Then his advisors are just that…advisors. They don't get to vote, that would be silly. The only reason Hiruzen listens to what they have to say most of the time is because he doesn't want to seem like he's being a complete dictator, even though their system of Government is one. Konoha's political system allows privately owned businesses and citizens to leave if they desire, so they often hear out civilians to keep their business in the village walls. They also allow clan heads to state their opinions since they're so valued, though they are **not **allowed to leave.

Anyway, Hiruzen is going to be a bit of a hard ass in this, at least when it comes down to it. The Professor doesn't bend easily when things are on the line. Similarly, Danzo will be a bit more likable than in most other stories.

As a final note, I'm changing who the Fire Daimyo is. I don't like his character in the show, so I'm changing it. I've actually had it planned for quite some time, as it's going to be a cross over character. WHO'S IT GONNA BE THOUGH? You'll just have to wait and find out. I'll toss a hint or two before I actually introduce him, enough of one so that you should know if you watched the show. I think he fits the role incredibly well.

That all said, see you all next time.


	3. Underneath the Sand

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor would it ever be a good thing if I did

Chapter 3: Underneath the Sand

* * *

A month had passed since Lee had been introduced to Anko and Naruto. The two of them were happy before, but the addition of Lee made their lives just that much better. Other kids still avoided Lee like the plague because of his disease, but he didn't mind anymore. He had some, and that was all that was important.

The adults took to Lee as they would any other child. They warned him to stay away from Naruto, but he simply ignored them, commenting on how rude they were to simply say something like that without good reason. He was given full meals and treated normally, just as Anko was for the most part. It made the blonde a bit jealous, but he wouldn't even try asking for food after what the adults did to Anko when she tried.

Seeing how the adults treated their friend, Anko and Lee were both completely disgusted. However, aside from sneaking him the occasional small scrap of food, there wasn't much they could do. However, they promised themselves that they would help him whenever they could.

Naruto and Lee had become rivals of a sort, always trying to do better than one another at physical activities. The blonde usually won when it came to endurance even through his malnutrition, though Lee won in terms of speed, strength, and skill. Anko usually did the same things with them, saying that it looked like more fun than trying to talk with any of the other kids. While they had accepted her for a little while, seeing her hang around with Lee and Naruto had made her a bit of an outcast amongst them. It was really just the 3 of them together against everyone else, not that any of them minded that fact.

They had to usually rely on themselves for entertainment, as the orphanage wouldn't give them a ball to play with like the other kids could get. Regardless, they made do with what they had and just raced or did exercises instead.

Today was supposed to no different than usual, truth be told, but they couldn't begin to conceive just how wrong they were. Today was a day that would change the world substantially for the better.

We find the three 5 year olds leaning against the familiar tree as they gasp for air. After getting to know Lee for a few days, they let him come up into the tree since he managed to be able to slip inside of it, albeit just barely. He had loved it, and cherished the two even more as friends for showing him such a place that they valued so much.

They were panting because of the race they had just finished around the orphanage that was 5 laps long. Lee, being a year older and better fed, had won of course. Anko had come in a pretty close second, while Naruto had been last by a significant margin. It was mostly because the orphanage had been giving Anko smaller portions of food for some reason, so he had been giving her parts of the small, edible portions he received If he were to take his shirt off in front of others, they could easily make out the ribs protruding from his chest to the point that it would make some people ill. Being so drastically underfed, his body was in full protest mode. His energy, endless as it might seem otherwise, was waning at a drastic pace. If he didn't get full meals soon, then he would likely end up starving to death, or having his muscles decay to the point where he couldn't move anymore.

The three children's attention snapped to the gate of the orphanage as it was being opened. The front gate was only used for two reasons, which was when the children were dropped off or were adopted. It was meant to act as a symbol of protection and freedom. Any other needs to leave the grounds would result in them using a side-door to get in or out which had several locks on it to keep children from escaping out of it.

As the door opened, Naruto's eyes were immediately drawn to the boy his age that was walking forward. He had short, spikey, red hair along with a pair of pale, pupil-less blue-green eyes. He was currently dressed in a light-green shawl that covered his shoulders and down to just above his elbow all the way around him. Underneath, he appeared to be wearing a black t-shirt along with a pair of blue pants that traveled down to his ankles. The most interesting thing of all, however, was the small gourd he carried on his back. He appeared to have been crying, judging by the tear stains on his cheeks.

However, despite all of his rather unique appearance, the most interesting thing was the looks the adults were giving him. Hatred, pure unfiltered hatred. The boy was getting the same looks he was used to being solely on the receiving end of. It was then that he felt a light pull on his subconscious, almost as if it were urging him to go talk to the red head.

The shawl-wearing boy, similarly, looked up from the ground and over to the blonde as if he had felt the pull as well.

Naruto, seeing that he had the boy's attention, simply waved at the boy knowing that he had to go through getting his bed and other such things. The red haired boy's eyes widened, seemingly in shock, though he gave a bit of a wave back before he was ushered inside.

"I wonder who that was…" Anko asked on the side as she finally regained her breath.

"I am not sure," Lee said as he turned to her before turning his head to the blonde boy. "Naruto seems to have liked him though."

"Yeah…" Naruto replied absent-mindedly. "It was…weird."

"What was?" Anko asked, somewhat curious. Lee simply looked on questioning him silently as well.

"I…I don't know," the blonde answered. "It was like I felt…something pulling me towards him. I'm gonna talk to him when he's done with the idiots inside."

His two friends just nodded, not really questioning him. Though it wasn't official or anything, he was pretty much the appointed group "leader." After he had introduced Lee into the group, and Anko had already trusted him to such a degree, they weren't really going to question his decisions unless it was overly strange.

* * *

(About an hour later)

It was relatively late in the afternoon when the red-haired boy finally came out of the house, and Naruto had been keeping a close eye out to see if he would even be allowed outside today. Seeing as he was in there for only an hour, it was quite likely that they had only given him the barest of rundowns of the household, the same he had been given when he was of-age to remember.

"There he is," the blonde boy said as he walked away from his two friends. "You two stay here for now, I wanna talk to him alone first."

He didn't see Anko or Lee nod, but he just assumed they did. Honestly, they felt a rather dark vibe coming off of him, so they were somewhat happy to just keep away from him.

"Hey," Naruto said as he came up to the boy who had taken to squatting in a small sandbox just outside of the building. No one really played in it much, as there usually was no water to use to form the sand properly, so they were by themselves.

"…" The boy didn't respond, just staring at the sand in front of him. He figured that the blonde would be gone soon enough, just like everyone else. Soon enough, his sub-conscious powers began to spin sand around him a little, making the blonde go wide-eyed.

'_Time for him to run away,' _the boy thought, seeing what he assumed was fear in the boy's eyes.

"Whoa…" Naruto stated as the sand flew around the red-haired boy as if it were nothing. "That's so cool!"

The red haired boy's head slowly turned to the blonde, and slowly recognized that it wasn't fear in his eyes. It was something different, and something he had never really seen before. He couldn't recognize the look of admiration when it was directed at him.

At hearing the blonde's words, the red head couldn't help but get a bit excited at feeling someone actually talking to him. As a result, however, his sand picked up speed and spun a little faster.

"Ack!" Naruto said as some sand flew relatively hard into his eyes and buffeted his face afterwards.

"Ah!" the red head stated as he immediately brought himself under control. "I'm sorry! I didn't me-"

"It's alright," Naruto said as he brushed some of the sand out of his hair and wiped his eyes to get rid of the sensation of sand hitting them. "I'm fine, see!" he stated as he smiled at the red head.

In return, the new boy just stared back at him blankly, never having had anyone aside from his father, siblings, and one other put up with being hurt by his sand before.

"Still, I'm sorry," the boy stated in a soft voice.

"It's okay, it was an accident," Naruto said as he attempted to pat the boy on the shoulder. He was in for a surprise when a wall of sand picked up and blocked his hand from going further, but didn't harm him in any way.

"Whoa!" Naruto stated simply, looking in awe at the sand. "How do you do that?! That's so awesome!"

The boy smiled widely for the first time in years, excited beyond belief to have someone talk to him normally. He was somewhat surprised, however, when his sand remained calm this time.

"I…I don't know. It just happens. I can't stop it," he admitted. "Oh! My name is Gaara, by the way." He only hoped he wouldn't scare the blonde off due to his lack of manners. His father didn't instill a great many things into him, but manners were one of them.

"Gaara, that's a good name!" Naruto stated with a smile of his own back at the boy. "I'm Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto." He stuck out his hand to shake the boy's hand, but was surprised when another wave of sand stopped his hand from intruding on Gaara's personal space.

Gaara, however, purposely focused on the blonde's hand. Harder than he had ever focused on anything, really. It may have been naïve, but he acknowledged this boy as one of the few people he trusted, and did so immediately despite common sense yelling at him for it. Despite all of the attempts to harm him back in Suna, he had always been a loving boy who wanted nothing other than friendship. He comes to Konoha, albeit reluctantly, and immediately finds someone that tries to be **his** friend. He wasn't about to let this chance slip away if he could get away with it.

He slowly extended his own hand, even as the sand wall died down, although specks of the stuff still floated around. Before Naruto could retract his own, he grabbed onto it somewhat fiercely, as his own face grew shocked at what he had just done.

'_I…I touched someone. But…the sand…'_ Gaara thought, even as a smile crept across his face again. He looked up to the blonde and saw a rather large smile on his as well, making his own grow that much more.

"I have a feeling you and I will be really good friends, Gaara," Naruto stated as he felt the pull towards the red head again.

"Me too, Naruto," Gaara said as he also felt a pull. For once, he actually couldn't hear any voices inside of his head.

"Ah, now I'm being rude!" Naruto shouted as he quickly stood up and waved to the other two people at the tree, making them walk over. "Come on, you have to meet my other friends!"

"Uh…sure!" Gaara stated as he happily stood up, taking in the appearance of the two people who walked over.

"Gaara, this is Mitarashi Anko," Naruto stated as she reached the two of them first.

Gaara gave a slight bow, even as Anko remained upright, still somewhat cautious of the boy.

"It is nice to meet you, Anko-san," Gaara stated in a nice tone. He just hoped he wouldn't screw this up.

"Just Anko is fine, nice to meet you too Sandman!" Anko said with a grin. Despite being somewhat cautious, she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt if Naruto trusted him. It would seem that she had watched the little display of sand control that he had shown.

"Ah, she likes you already!" Naruto stated after a short chuckle at the nickname. "Getting a nickname is a good sign from her."

"I…see," Gaara said with a somewhat cautious smile, even as his eyebrow ticked a little bit absent-mindedly. He had never really interacted with other kids before, so this still felt very weird to him.

"And this," Naruto continued, "Is Rock Lee."

"It is a great pleasure to meet another one of Naruto's friends!" Lee said as he gave a small bow and stuck his hand out to shake, the wall of sand coming up out of his gourd to stop it from getting too close to Gaara just as before.

"Ah…I'm sorry. I can't control it sometimes," Gaara said, hoping that it wouldn't scare the other two off. However, it seemed to have the exact opposite effect.

"That was cool!" Anko shouted, now having seen it up close. She had indeed watched the interaction between him and Naruto before, but seeing it up close was just that much cooler.

"Ahh, how I wish I could do something like that," Lee said somewhat wistfully as it brought back memories that he wouldn't be able to ever control his chakra. Unlike the others, he had a rough idea of what it meant.

'_These…these guys are nice,' _Gaara thought, still not used to them or the silence in his head without Shukaku shouting all the time. He wasn't aware of just what it was, but it was a voice he heard and that was all he needed to know to want it to stop.

The red-haired boy quickly focused on Lee's hand which was still held out, similarly to Naruto's beforehand. As the sand wall fell down, he reached out slowly this time and grabbed the boy's hand, giving it a shake.

'_Twice, I did it twice!' _Gaara said happily in his mind, having never controlled his sand to this extent before of his own will.

The group was stopped, however, when the gate to the orphanage opened again. It was rare to receive one child in a day, yet alone two. Everyone turned to see who it was, Gaara as well as he saw his new friends turn to see who it was.

Every adult in the immediate area began freaking out beyond belief when they saw a tall man wearing red and white robes walk in. He walked slowly but with purpose as he had his red hat tipped forward to cover part of his face. Before they could even begin to address him, however, he tipped his hat upwards and glanced around. He immediately spotted the shawl-covered boy and smiled before he froze where he stood.

Hiruzen had planned this trip for 2 reasons, if truth were to be told. First of all, he intended to visit Gaara and see how well he was adjusting, and to comfort him personally if needed. Secondly, he intended to visit Naruto, whom he viewed somewhat as his unofficial Grandson.

For the second reason, he simply froze in place and tried to calm himself before he moved again. He was happy to see Gaara already was with a group of kids, and was even somewhat happier when he initially spotted the blonde alongside him. However, when his eyes immediately took in the extra details about said blonde, he had to struggle to not go and immediately murder every adult within the vicinity.

The boy was, quite simply, a twig. With his bad eyesight and still being this distance away, he could already tell he was drastically malnourished. His cheeks were sunken inwards, giving his face no baby fat whatsoever regardless of his age. He could spot the exposed collarbone on the boy as his orange shirt, which was in terrible condition, hung loosely off of his frame. His arm and leg muscles were almost non-existent from what he could see, though there was at least something there, thankfully. He could tell that the boy needed food, and he needed it direly.

"…Hawk," Hiruzen said commandingly, immediately sensing the ANBU agent that landed behind him. "Summon the council for a meeting in 45 minutes. I will be there by then or shortly afterwards, give or take 15 minutes. Report to my office and stay in sight once you're finished."

"Hai," the distinctive male voice said plainly before he used a **Body Flicker Technique** and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

For the time being, he removed his look of anger and simply walked over towards the two boys even as he heard the adults moving drastically to likely inform the caretaker that he was here on an unscheduled visit.

"Why hello there," Hiruzen said as he moved towards the group. His anger grew even further upon seeing Naruto up-close, but he wasn't going to let the kids see it if he could help it.

"You look…familiar…" Naruto said as he tried to put his thumb on it. He knew he recognized the man, but he just couldn't remember from where. Suddenly it clicked when he remembered the man visiting him when he was around 2 and a half.

"Jiji?" Naruto asked in a relatively soft voice.

Hiruzen's heart almost broke at hearing the boy call him that, knowing that he should've been here to check on him sooner. In all fairness, he _had_ tried to by using one of his ANBU agents, but they always just responded with a generic report saying he was fine. He would have words with him later.

"Hai," the old man said, feeling his age for the first time in a long time. "It's me, Naruto."

The blonde's smile immediately lit up his face as he rushed forward on his weak legs and gave the man a hug, unknowingly breaking the man's heart again.

'_I have failed this boy so much. Forgive me Minato, I'll do what I can to make it up to you.' _

"Ah…" the old Kage said to clear out his tightening throat more than anything else. "I see you've made some friends since last time I visited you, Naruto."

"Yeah!" Naruto said, somewhat excitedly though it still sounded extremely dulled compared to the vibrant energy Hiruzen had expected. He quickly moved back over towards the girl of the group, who he already recognized, but he wasn't going to deprive the boy of the chance to introduce them all. The only one he didn't really know was the one wearing the Chinese garb.

"This is my first friend Anko!" Naruto said even as the old man gave a slight bow to her. No one knew who he really was from this group, so they didn't realize the respect he was giving them. He was actually somewhat glad for that, as he always loved having children just address him as an old man rather than an important political figure.

"Nice to meet you, old man!" Anko said with a grin that could rival one of Naruto's best. She didn't offer a handshake, nor a bow, but she seemed to welcome him honestly nonetheless.

"This is Rock Lee," Naruto said as he indicated the boy in the green vest.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Lee said with a moderate bow, which Hiruzen returned with a slight one of his own.

'_That one has quite good manners,' _he thought, even as his mind roared at how the boy's eyebrows were so bushy at such a young age.

"…And this," Naruto said as he came to the red-head's side and placed a hand on his shoulder, surprising the old man. "Is our new friend Gaara."

"Very nice to meet you," Gaara said with a respectful bow. He knew all too well who the man was, but it seemed he was being incredibly informal for some reason. Being new to the group, he decided to just follow what everyone else was doing.

"It is my pleasure to meet all of you as well," Hiruzen said as he inclined his head again. He knew all too well that 3 of the 4 kids here had not had the easiest of lives, and something told him that the fourth one had not either. He was glad to see that they seemed to have made bonds with one another, but he couldn't help the pity forming for them in the pit of his stomach.

"I do apologize for being rude and asking this," he began as he ran his eyes over Anko, Lee, and Gaara, trying to stay polite with all of them. "However, may I speak to Naruto alone for a few moments?"

Naruto's eyebrows rose slightly, but maybe he just wanted to visit for a while like last time. Regardless, he turned to his friends who were all looking at him.

"Sure," Anko stated, taking charge of the situation a bit. "Come on, let's go play on the swings or something."

Lee immediately followed, as that was his favorite activity aside from exercising. Gaara looked to Naruto who gave him a smile before he bowed to the two of them and following Lee and Anko away.

Hiruzen waited until they were a good distance away before he looked down at the boy with soft eyes, but ones that had a hidden rage just behind the surface. He heard scrambling adults near the entrance of the orphanage, and assumed that the caretaker and others were probably trying to rush towards him.

"Naruto," he said softly, "can you do me a favor and lift up your shirt for me?"

He could've sworn he felt his heart crack for the third time as he watched the boy wince at the question he asked.

"D…Do I have to?" Naruto asked.

"I'm afraid so, yes." Hiruzen answered. "If you do though…then I'll take you to get something to eat."

Naruto looked up at the man again, before he looked down at the ground, not really wanting to see the reaction in the man's eyes. As he lifted up the shirt, Hiruzen's heart didn't break…but the dam he was building to try to keep his anger at bay sure cracked significantly

Underneath his shirt was an absolute mess. Every single rib bone was visible to a sickening degree. His entire collarbone was easily outlined and his stomach had shrunken to an extent that he looked almost as if it were just his spine keeping him held up.

"…They didn't feed you, did they?" Hiruzen asked as he let the boy put his shirt down, already all but knowing what the answer was.

"They…kinda did," Naruto answered truthfully. "They gave me stuff sometimes, but it was usually stuff that would make me sick. When I didn't eat it, they told me that I wouldn't need any for a week. I stole the good things from them before, but then they started watching it better. When they gave me good stuff, it wasn't very much. Then they started giving less to Anko-chan, so I gave what I got to her so she wouldn't be hungry."

Hiruzen blinked a few times to try to remove the loose tears springing up around his eyes without showing what was happening. He couldn't be prouder of the boy for what he did to protect his friends, and he had already shown **far** more character than most idiots within the village he found himself in charge of.

"I…see," Hiruzen responded as he glanced to the door and saw the overweight man trying to walk quickly towards him. "Let me go and talk to the caretaker for a moment, and then we'll see about getting you some food."

"Ah… Jiji…" Naruto began, almost fearful ask so he turned his head down immediately at having spoken before thinking.

"What is it?" Hiruzen asked softly and with a smile. "Don't be afraid to ask Naruto, you won't get in trouble."

"I…I just wanted to know if my friends could come. The food here is terrible, and I don't think they get enough," Naruto said with his eyes still on the ground.

'_Even on the brink of starvation and he still thinks about his friends first…' _Hiruzen thought as he simply smiled at the boy. _'He really is your son, Minato.' _

"I think…that would be a wonderful idea," Hiruzen said as he ruffled the spiky blonde hair on the boy. "We'll all go once I finish up here, okay?"

He wasn't entirely prepared for the boy to crash into him in a rather fierce hug around his waist. However, he felt guilty once again when he realized that he was getting this simply for agreeing to take him and his friends out for dinner.

"Thank you, Jiji!" Naruto as he stepped away and grinned at the man before running away with his friends. Hiruzen smiled after him for only a moment before he heard the heavy breathing next to him, indicating that the caretaker had shown up.

_Snap_

At the sound of his fingers making the noise, an ANBU in a bear mask showed up behind him, much to the surprise of the caretaker.

"Take this piece of shit to Ibiki. I don't even want to hear of a corpse," Hiruzen stated plainly.

Before the caretaker could do much else other than open his mouth to speak in his defense, the ANBU agent had appeared behind him and sped away. He snapped his fingers again, drawing an ANBU agent with a dog mask on.

"…I don't even know what in the fuck to say to you right now," Hiruzen stated with rare venom in his voice as the man in the mask looked down to the ground, not willing to meet the old man's eyes. "Were you truly so lazy that you didn't bother to even check on him, or was it too _painful_ for you? Your reports told me he was perfectly healthy and being well cared for."

The man merely remained silent, but kept his gaze on the ground that he found so interesting.

"Your last report was a week ago. Do you think that a boy could go from perfectly healthy to that in a week?" Hiruzen asked, having to hold himself back from spitting in anger.

The man continued staring down.

"For someone who spends so much time trying to honor the dead, you sure just committed an act that would _disgust_ the two men you honored the most." The old man paused in thought before he continued once again. "…I want your mask on my desk by midnight tonight along with all of your assigned ANBU gear that you have left. Consider yourself demoted to Jonin, and be thankful you're so damned skilled or your career would be done Kakashi."

"Hai," the masked man responded.

"Get out of my sight," Hiruzen commanded, sending the man speeding away. He then turned towards the building, staring at it for a moment.

The Sandaime then thought about "handling" the other members of the orphanage, but figured he'd just save it for later if he needed to. He put on his best fake smile as he moved over to the group of 4 children who were playing on a swing set with Naruto just standing over to the side.

"Alright!" Hiruzen said in a playful tone. "Who's up for some food?"

All of them immediately jumped out of the swing, looking up at him as if he were Kami himself with the exception of Gaara who simply gave him a smile. He, out of all of them, was still pretty well fed from his trip here with his siblings.

"Okay," the Sandaime Hokage began, "how do you all feel about ramen?"

"Ramen?" Naruto asked, cocking his head to the side slightly, wondering what it was about that word that made something in his mind tick.

'…_Shit.' _Hiruzen thought as he began to remember Minato's stories about how much ramen Kushina could put away. _'Oh well, he can't eat __**that**__ much of the stuff.'_

* * *

(Meanwhile, at Ichiraku's Ramen resteraunt)

Teuchi shivered delightfully as he was making hand-crafted noodles for future bowls of what his stand was known for. He was working the stand alone for the time being, so his daughter was nowhere in sight.

'_...An Uzumaki is coming.'_

* * *

So there we have it, Chapter 3. Sorry they're all broken up into such lengths, but I prefer to keep them short and to a point rather than have fuck tons of plot points in a giant page. Sorry if you aren't a fan, but it's not much different anyway.

Anyway, Gaara. He never went through the trauma of being betrayed by Yashamaru. I'm not positive on what time that betrayal happened, so I'm not certain if that's following the Canon timeline or not. Doesn't really matter, but I thought I'd throw that in there. Also, no betrayal = no bat-shit insane Gaara with love kanji on his forehead.

There **will** be a bit more Kakashi bashing through the story, though he won't remain an ignorant idiot for the rest of it. You can probably guess that Hiruzen already has a rather bad taste in his mouth after being lied to about Naruto, so those two won't be getting along any time soon. I'm sure some people will be a bit upset about him not going through on a mission like that, but it's just the way I wanted things to happen. At the moment, he **does** know that it's Minato's son, but he's still a bit confused about the entire situation involving him and the Kyūbi. As such, he couldn't will himself to watch the boy because it stirred his emotions about everything again, so he just falsified the report. Being lazy certainly didn't help matters either. That's my reasoning behind the entire situation.

I still intend to have Gaara develop being mostly the same, though he's going to be fiercely protective of his friends since they helped the voice in his head go away and bring him happiness. You don't have to worry about any **drastic** change in personality with him as a result of the move, at least not yet.

That's it for now, remember to review if you'd like to do such a thing, and please point out any grammar / punctuation errors so I can go back and fix them as per the usual.

See you all next time!


	4. Screw the System

Still don't own Naruto, still a good thing I don't.

Chapter 4: Screw the System

* * *

(20 minutes after leaving the orphanage)

"Thank you, Teuchi!" Hiruzen stated as he handed each of the children around him a relatively large bowl of ramen, while giving Naruto 2 of them and carrying another 2 bowls in case he still was in a strange food-lust for the stuff after he finished. They had all made their way to the ramen stand and ordered around 10 minutes ago. It was clear from the look crossing the blonde's face that he was struggling not to devour the food as it was right now from the scent it was giving off.

"The honor is mine, Hokage-sama" Teuchi replied with a bow. "And I don't care what anyone may say, you're all welcome to eat here anytime!" Naturally, he had overheard talks of his customers discussing the so called "demon child" and was somewhat afraid that they would end up being true. However, much to his delight, the stories were seemingly incredibly falsified. The blonde was absolutely nothing but polite, and praised how good the food smelled the entire time he was there.

The children around the old man all smiled up at him warmly, and the stand owner felt guilty just seeing the way they admired him for giving them what most considered normal once or twice a week. Given, this was apparently their first outing from the orphanage, but something just felt…wrong seeing children so thankful for take-out food.

"I'm sure this one will be a repeat customer," Hiruzen said as he ruffled Naruto's hair. "He's an Uzumaki, after all."

'_That's why I shivered earlier,' _Teuchi thought as dollar signs rolled into his eyeballs like slot machines. He wouldn't rip off the boy by any means, in fact, he'd likely give him a life-long discount so long as it kept him coming back to his stand over the others in town. After all, if the boy ate ramen anything like Kushina then he would easily make more by offering the small dip in price from the usual customer. However, he didn't get a chance to offer as the Sandaime walked away with all of them in tow.

"I didn't know you were the Hokage…" Naruto said as he eyed the man in renewed awe after leaving the stand.

"How didn't you realize it before now?" Anko asked as she recognized the man as the one who spoke to her about her mother and father before she was sent to the orphanage. He hadn't told her about his title either, but he **had** been bowed to and greeted from everyone on the street, which was when she realized it. "The villagers practically kissed his feet on the way to the ramen stand."

"I…" Naruto began, not really realizing what to say. "I thought maybe they just acted that way towards old people…I've never been outside before so…I didn't know."

At this, everyone in the group just grew a bit more depressed. Gaara, sheltered as he might've have been, had at least been allowed to go outside on the odd occasion. Lee had gone outside quite often with his parents, so he was used to it and Anko had gone outside a lot until her mom picked up cocaine as a drug habit. Even after that, she had been forced to go outside to get food to survive. Hearing that the one who brought them all together was so unfortunate to have never been allowed outside before was…well…a bit of a mood killer even for kids.

"It's quite alright Naruto," Hiruzen stated in a cheery tone to try to bring everyone out of the depression that last statement had caused. "You'll learn in time."

The group then proceeded in relative silence with them all gaping at something they spotted along the way on occasion. Hiruzen was thankful that they were so distracted that they didn't notice the glares that were directed their way, though he thought Gaara might've caught some of them judging by the slight twitches the boy had when they were rather intense.

They arrived at the Hokage tower relatively quickly afterwards, and they were brought through security immediately as Hiruzen authorized them. He dropped them off in the Hokage office with Hawk who was in the open along with an ANBU agent in a wolf mask who was in hiding.

"Now, I'll be back in a little bit, but until then you all talk with Hawk for a little while. I promise, he doesn't bite," he finished with a smile as he watched the kids sit down and eagerly dig into their food. He watched as Naruto almost literally inhaled the bowl of food with eyes that grew as big as saucers, and could only be saddened by how hungry he was. However, he pushed that thought out of his mind as he closed the door and left them inside.

'_Now to deal with the council,' _he thought as he grumbled and walked away.

* * *

(5 minutes later)

Hiruzen walked into the council chamber, finding that they all seemed rather pissed. He didn't really care for the time being, as there was no chance they could match just how pissed he was.

"Let's get this over with quickly," Hiruzen stated as he walked up to his usual seat among the council. In front of him, the Shinobi council were seated in a slightly inclining ramp on the left side. Similarly, the right side composed of the individual civilian council members who were also there. Glancing to the right side, he decided just to come right out and ask.

"Which one of you civilians own the large apartment complex in the lower district? The 3 leveled one that almost no one uses anymore," Hiruzen asked and specified.

"That would be me, Hokage-sama," answered a slim, white-haired man in the back. His name was Hogeki Yumara, a counselor who was given his position solely due to the amount of property he owned within the village.

"Konoha is buying it from you," Hiruzen stated plainly as he signaled Homura to find the appropriate file for the building as he was in charge of the property files. "You wanted around 1,000,000 Ryo for it, correct?" (10 grand USD)

"Hai," the man stated plainly. "It's old and rather run down, so really you're just buying a roof and whatever appliances are still inside along with the land. I would honestly just recommend tearing it down."

"No, that won't be necessary," the Hokage stated as Homura handed him the file. Hiruzen quickly gestured the man down, who came down and signed the file they had on-hand, confirming the deal in front of the entire council. Several people wondered what this was about, but they sincerely had no idea. 1,000,000 Ryo wasn't a whole lot of money for their treasury to produce anyway.

"Alright, the apartment complex is now property of Konoha. Thank you Hogeki. Hand the slip I gave you to my secretary on your way out and you will get your money."

Hogeki simply nodded, more than happy to have gotten that thing off of his hands.

"Moving on," Hiruzen continued, "I will be moving several children out of the orphanage and into the apartment complex Konoha has just purchased."

This caused a bit of an uproar in the civilian side of the council, which was supposed to have all say in terms of civilians.

"**SILENCE!**" Hiruzen shouted as he released a bit of killing intent with the word. "My word about this is final. As of today, Uzumaki Naruto, Rock Lee, Mitarashi Anko, and Gaara will each have individual apartments within said complex. They should also be considered to be under my protection through the Protection of Abused Children Act."

"But Hokage-sama!" shouted a particular pink-haired woman as she tried to stand out of her chair again.

"**I CALLED FOR SILENCE, **_**CIVILIAN**_**!**" Hiruzen shouted as he smashed the pedestal in front of him with a fist, causing everyone to shut up immediately. The woman immediately stumbled to the ground and crawled backwards into her seat again, suddenly looking like a scolded child.

"One of those children, _**a child**_, was _starved_ and almost _poisoned_ under civilian care. Not just by one, but by multiple people through our orphanage system." Hiruzen said with disgust, earning a good deal of furrowed brows from some of the shinobi council. Of course, all of them picked up on who it likely was immediately, just as the smarter of the civilians did as well.

"I'm **THROUGH** trying to be the nice one about this entire issue. I suggest you tell your peers to stay away from them from now on, or you'll end up regretting it," Hiruzen finished as he began writing in a new file that Koharu handed him wordlessly. Said file would officially recognize the move to the building and approve it. They always kept blank files for orphans on hand, just in case they were brought up in a council meeting. Despite all of their years apart, the elders of Konoha still worked together nearly without flaw.

"Whichever one of you is in charge of the orphanage will need a new caretaker. He will be permanently indisposed," Hiruzen said in a tone cold enough to send a shiver of fear through most of the councilors present, including many of the shinobi.

A particular overweight man stood up on the civilian side of the council, looking substantially similar to the caretaker. "You can't jus-" he began to say before he a heavy pressure directed solely at him, causing him to see vivid images of his own death in extraordinarily violent ways again and again until he fell to his knees.

"I am old," Hiruzen said from a sitting position as he released the killing intent when the man finally lost consciousness briefly. "I dislike fighting at this point in my life. However, if you continue to push this, I will **not** hesitate to kill some of you to prove my point. What that man did was evil, despicable, and illegal. Effectively, it was treason, because he poisoned a military asset to Konoha." At this, he glanced over to Danzo and saw slight smirk cross his face, but he also gave Hiruzen a slight nod. The old Hokage hated having to resort to such words, but if Danzo supported him, then not many would try to go against his demands. "Am I clear?"

The man immediately stumbled back into his seat upon regaining consciousness after a few moments, not wanting to anger the man further about the issue. Anyone else who was going to attempt to raise their voice immediately thought better of it.

"Good," Hiruzen said in a voice that was far too sweet after the situation just a few moments ago. "Complex is property of the village, select orphans are moving in for the time being. That's all I wanted to specify for the time being, is there anything else?"

"Actually, Hokage-sama…" Hiashi said as he stood slowly after being acknowledged. "There is…"

* * *

(25 minutes later)

A somewhat-satisfied but very disgruntled Hiruzen walked out of the council chambers. He hadn't exactly expected Hiashi to spring that on him, but it was his clan…so he could _legally_ do what he wanted. What he did afterwards certainly wasn't right, nor was it even remotely justifiable, but the Hyūga clan had the power and influence to get it done. He quickly came to his office, and was delighted to hear the sound of laughter coming from behind the door.

"Oi, give it back!" shouted a male voice.

"I am Hawk-man!" Naruto shouted as Hiruzen opened the door and saw a blonde boy standing on his desk with the porcelain hawk mask on his face in a superhero pose, along with the face of an embarrassed ANBU agent.

"I see you've been enjoying yourselves," the Sandaime stated as he looked around the room at the faces of the children who had obviously been laughing hysterically. Anko, in particular, seemed like she might pass out from lack of air. Even Gaara, who had never been one to laugh much, was red in the face from how humorous the sight was.

"Jiji!" Naruto shouted happily, even as a hand shot forward and grabbed the mask, putting it back over the face of the one who should be wearing it at all times while on duty.

"Ah-hem," the ANBU agent cleared his throat. "Hokage-sama," he greeted simply, though it was clear he had been laughing as well from how he sounded.

"Thanks for watching over them Hawk," Hiruzen said with a smile, getting a nod in return. "Now…as for you four," he began with a smile. "You aren't going to go back to the orphanage."

"What?" Naruto asked before any of them could do so themselves.

"We're going to get you your own apartments to live in," Hiruzen responded. "You don't need to be scared about being on your own, as you'll all be living right next to one another."

"So…no more orphanage?" Naruto asked somewhat hopefully. Hiruzen didn't miss the hopeful look in Anko's eyes either.

"Nope, no more orphanage," Hiruzen replied with a smile. "Hawk here," he continued after putting a hand on the short man's shoulder, "is going to teach you all how to look out for yourselves while you're there. The place is in rather bad shape for the moment, but it's better than what you would've been in otherwise."

Everyone there just nodded their heads, remembering the poor living conditions within the orphanage. All of them, with the exception of Gaara, knew all too well that the place was horrible to live in.

"So, starting immediately, your new life begins," Hiruzen said happily. "I know all of you have had it rough in the past, and I don't expect any of you to forget about it. However, you have a new life. You will be able to life safely now next to others who care for you. Don't let the past rule over your future."

Everyone in the room smiled at that, even Hawk from underneath his mask. From the small amount of time he had gotten to know the kids, he knew they had lived a rather harsh life themselves. He was happy to help out if he could.

"I'll send an ANBU agent to pick up your stuff from the orphanage and bring it to all of you. I'll also send someone out immediately to get you some basic furniture and other necessities. Hawk will help you with food, so that shouldn't be a problem either. Do any of you actually _want_ to not do this?"

He quickly received a shake of the head from all of them and smiled warmly. It had been silly of him to make all of these plans and not even ask, but it seemed like they all valued each other too highly to split up anyway.

"Alright, Jiji," Naruto said as he looked around the room to see the small smiles on all of his friends' faces. "Let's do it! Wait, actually, can I have more ramen first?"

* * *

(With Teuchi)

The ramen cook felt a familiar delightful shiver run through his body, even as dollar signs not-so-subtly replaced his eyeballs.

"Hook, line, and sinker," he said softly with a grin on his features as he continued to boil a batch of noodles.

"Oi, old man!" A customer who was twitching slightly shouted. "Where's my miso? The Log demands delicious sacrifice!"

'_Crazy ass religious freaks,' _Teuchi thought as he just waved him off and went back to his noodles.

* * *

(Obviously poking fun at stories that worship the log as a deity in their stories. Pretty sure Kenchi618 had a good part in that, but not for certain. I shall continue poking fun at odd points throughout the story as I go on.)

So yup, Chapter 4 done. I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who has read, followed, and/or favorite thus far. I honestly didn't expect to get any more than something like 50 views, but I received around 1000 in the first day alone. Mind = blown.

I hope you all enjoyed, as I thought I did as well as I could, given the situation I presented. I imagine some of you are eager to see some combat, and I'm sorry to say that I still have a significant amount of pre-story planned first. Training, Academy, blossoming friendships, meeting new people, all the good stuff. Next chapter introduces Hinata, so hopefully no one got _too_ upset that she wasn't in it before now.

Anyway, the building Hiruzen purchased from the civilian was Naruto's apartment in Canon, so just use a mental image of that when it's described in the future. Pretty sure it was 3 levels, not certain on that, but if it wasn't then it is now!

Hawk will play a pretty significant parts in what's to come, just as a head's up. I purposely haven't dropped any significant clues as to who he could be, but you'll find out a bit more in the next few chapters.

Tried to intentionally make Naruto be a bit more of a goof in this part to bring out his personality. When he actually has energy and food in his system, he's still somewhat hyperactive, and he enjoys making others laugh. That will probably always remain true, though it will be toned down a bit, at least under combat or serious situations.

Anyway, usual schpeal here. Thanks for reading/favoriting/following/reviewing or any combination of the 4. See you all next time.


	5. One of Us

Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto, still a good thing that I don't.

Chapter 5: One of Us.

* * *

5 days had passed since Hiruzen had given the 4 children their apartments, and it was an odd 5 days for all of them. The man that had been assigned to watch over them, Hawk as he was known, had actually grown somewhat close to them all. While the group wasn't able to get much information out from him while he taught them general things, they were able to get out that he was 12, which surprised everyone that someone so young could already be in ANBU.

(Not certain of his actual age within Canon, you'll get a name later and you can all let me know)

However, he didn't like to talk about himself very much when he could navigate the conversation around it. Most of the time when he was around, it was strictly to call all of the kids into Naruto's apartment to show them what they would need to know.

Primarily, it was the simple things. How to wash your own clothes, how to cook, how to use the appliances in the homes that were brought in, basic first aid in case someone was hurt, as well as how to shop for themselves while managing the money they received for their new monthly allowance. At first, price gouging had been a serious problem, but it was quickly remedied when the Sandaime _politely_ reminded the civilian council that it was against the law. Several stores refused to give them service, but those that did made sure to give them fair prices.

It was during his first solo shopping trip that Naruto would, once again, have his life changed forever.

The blonde was currently taking a less-traveled route back to the apartment in the lower districts, having been taught specifically from Hawk that he should probably avoid the villagers as much as he could. He was walking down a deserted street, only the very rare passer-by actually seeing him at all. Generally, these people were so high out of their minds that they wouldn't recognize him anyway, so it worked out in the end.

As he walked past an alleyway, however, a distinct sound made him stop cold.

_Sob_

He stood still, not making any other noise and listening a bit closer.

_Sob Sob Sniffle_

Not thinking twice about it when he realized it was a girl crying, the blonde moved into the alley slowly, making as little noise as possible. However, as he took his soft steps, the sobbing died down to where he could barely hear anything. To him, it was clear that the girl who was sobbing before was trying to keep herself quiet to avoid him finding her. After all, he had been forced to do the same in the orphanage when he was younger, so he could relate.

He listened carefully, simply standing still and trying to lower his own breathing. After a long few moments, he heard a _very_ slightly shuffling sound coming from an upside down cardboard box about 5 feet ahead and to his right. He moved towards it and kneeled set his bag full of food off to the side.

He gently tapped on the box with a finger, as he sat down fully.

"Anyone home?" Naruto asked in a soft tone. He waited for a long moment afterwards, getting no response except hearing slightly increased breathing. However, as he did manage to pick up on it, he heard a sound that he was all too familiar with when he heard a stomach growl incredibly loudly.

Not really wanting to intrude, but feeling that he should at least try to help, Naruto thought about what he wanted to do in this situation. Reaching over to the recently purchased bag of food, he took out an apple that was inside and palmed it. He quickly reached over and lifted the cardboard box _just_ far enough off of the ground and put the apple inside before letting it drop back down.

Several minutes passed before he heard a slightly shuffling inside of the box, followed by a soft crunch that showed that the girl had bit into the fruit he had given her. He let a small smile cross his face as he heard the crunches quickly repeat themselves, meaning that she was devouring it rather heartily. He then patiently waited for them to stop, giving it a few minutes afterwards before he spoke again.

"You know," he began, "I have some more food here if you're still hungry. Just come out of there and I'll share some with you."

He waited patiently for a response for a few long moments, not knowing what was going to happen. However, he smiled a bit when he saw the box begin to rise off of the ground.

When it rose far enough for him to get a look, he couldn't help but be a bit saddened by what he saw. Inside was a girl who was every bit as young as he was. She was wearing pretty scarce clothing. A a pair of long pants that had a few rips along the legs, along with a pair of black sandals. Her shirt was a simple, black V-neck that offered little in terms of protection from the elements that had sleeves which stopped just at her elbow, though it also had a few tears along the shoulders and midsection. She had raven-colored hair and a rounded face with a bit of baby fat on it, though it seemed to be slowly falling off. Her hair was a dark blue color, and was in a hime-cut style with a long bang hanging down below her chin on either side.

The most noticeable thing about the girl, however, would have to be the pupil-less lavender eyes along with the green ink on her forehead. It came from either side and ended in the center where an x was located. Though Naruto was far too young to realize it, the seal was rather infamous throughout the world for a multitude of reasons.

Taking a glance at her body, Naruto could tell the girl had been through Hell recently. Her arms and face were somewhat heavily bruised with small, circular bruises, though he wasn't sure what could cause such a wound. Her hair was matted somewhat, likely from having been out in the elements for a few days without any sort of shelter. On top of that, her lavender eyes were tinted red and extremely puffy, showing that she had been crying fiercely in the not-too-distant past.

"Hi there," Naruto said softly and with a smile as she took in his own appearance. He was wearing a new orange shirt along with a blue pair of shorts and matching sandals. Nothing fancy, but certainly in better shape than she currently was.

"H-h-h-hello," the girl responded shakily, obviously nervous as to what might happen. She seemed so shaken that she wasn't even willing to look him in the eye.

The blonde boy slowly reached over to his bag and dug around, finding an orange this time. He took it out and simply held his hand out with it towards the lavender-eyed girl with a warm smile highlighting his features. He watched as she shakily reached a hand out and took the food before she bit into the fruit, peel and all.

"Slow down a little," Naruto chastised softly. "There's plenty more where that came from, don't rush."

The girl simply looked up to him for a moment before immediately looking back down again. As she broke eye contact, she simply nodded before biting into the fruit a bit slower, seemingly savoring it this time.

It continued like this until she had exhausted him of pretty much every readily edible piece of food in his bag. He still had some cups of instant-ramen, since he had fallen in love with the stuff, but those weren't something he could serve up right where he was now. It was also getting somewhat late, so it was unlikely that he would be able to go back to the store to get anything else. He would have to wait until tomorrow to get more food. However, he didn't mind. The girl in front of him was more important than just being hungry for a night.

As he watched, the girl bit into the last item he had given to her, which was a cinnamon bun that had been prepared at a bakery he went to. He had intended to save it for a special occasion, it just turned out that one happened a bit sooner than he had thought it would. He had to smirk as the thing was devoured without remorse. It was somewhat surprising considering she _had_ been eating slowly for the last few pieces of food, she must just have really liked sweets.

"Feeling better?" Naruto asked with a smile, already knowing the answer from the way her drastic shaking had calmed down substantially.

"H-h-hai," she responded as her eyes widened at all of the remains around her, taking in just how much she had eaten. "T-th-th-thank you," she said with a small bow towards him as she remained seated.

"You're welcome," Naruto responded, still giving her a wide smile. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, by the way. What's your name?"

The girl's eyes immediately grew tears at the corners, though the blonde wasn't entirely sure why. However, she seemed to shove whatever feelings were causing the tears back enough to respond to him.

"H-H-Hinata," she replied simply. "J-j-just H-Hinata."

Naruto saw her start to show the signs of holding back tears again, so he decided to not really question her about that last comment for the time being. He quickly took in what she had around her, and quickly came to the conclusion that she had been living in the alley.

'_No way I'm letting her stay here,' _Naruto though, not even having a second thought about his decision. _'No one deserves to live like this.' _

"Well Hinata," Naruto stated as he looked up and saw the sky beginning to descend. "It's getting rather late. Do you have anywhere to sleep?"

The girl, in response, immediately glanced back to her box and the shaggy blue cloth a little distance away that she had likely been using as a blanket. Her eyes grew a bit depressed, but she nodded her head afterwards, which was something the blonde did not like to see.

"Somewhere other than under the box?" Naruto inquired further, which caused the tears that had been welling up to spill out, staining her cheeks as she gave her head a shake.

The blonde reached forward, extending a hand towards her as she was still sitting on the ground.

"Come on," he said softly. "You can stay with me tonight."

The girl's eyes immediately lit up with a small spark of hope, though Naruto wouldn't be able to tell since she was still looking down. However, the look immediately died out as she remembered what her father had said 5 days ago.

'_You are Hyuga no longer. As of now, you do not exist to us. You are too weak, we refuse to recognize you as one of our own. Not only that, but others will now shun you under penalty of receiving the same treatment. …You are no longer my daughter. Now get out of my sight.' _

"Y-y-y-you would g-get in t-t-trouble," Hinata said softly enough that she almost hoped he wouldn't hear for fear of taking back the offer. "Y-y-your p-p-parents wouldn't l-l-let you."

"Nah," Naruto stated simply after barely managing to hear her while also trying to contain his pang of inner-pain at the remark about parents. "I don't have parents. I live by myself."

Hinata's head finally rose, looking the blonde in the eyes even as he continued to hold his hand out for her.

'_Hi-…his eyes kind of remind me of mom's,' _Hinata thought, as she absent-mindedly reached out and took his hand. She felt a gentle pull as it helped her to her feet. She stood, still looking into his eyes that reminded her of her mother so much even as her hand remained holding the blonde's hand without thinking.

"Tell you what," Naruto stated as he smiled at her, finally making eye contact with him for a prolonged period of time. "I'll make you some more stuff to eat if you stay."

Hinata, finally realizing she was staring, shook her head slightly to snap herself out of it. "I-I-I wouldn't w-w-want to b-b-bother y-you."

"Don't be silly!" Naruto said softly, but still with a firm tone. "You won't bother me. You shouldn't have to sleep out here anyway."

Hinata's hidden hope that someone would actually help her rose once more. It had been crushed rather severely over the past few days when she met acquaintances on the street who would completely shun her, so hearing someone willing to help her was almost enough to make her cry again.

"….Thank you," she whispered softly to him even as tears grew in the corner of her eyes again. "Thank you…"

Instead of responding, Naruto just grabbed the bag of what groceries he still had off of the ground and kept her hand in his free hand.

"Come on, it's not far from here." Naruto stated as he gently began to lead her along.

* * *

8 minutes later, and the blue-eyed boy was walking up to his apartment with the lavender-eyed girl in tow. He glanced back, seeing her reaction towards the building as they began to walk up the stairs, and couldn't help but smile a little bit.

"It's a dump," he said plainly, having an idea as to what she was thinking and using the exact phrase Hawk had used to describe it. "But it's a dump filled with friends."

"Ah…I-I-I d-d-didn't mean to…." Hinata stated, looking down in embarrassment. Truthfully, she had been thinking something around those lines, but she couldn't believe she was being so selfish about it. Then again, it might take a while to become used to living without the…luxuries she once had.

"It's okay. I think everybody has the same idea at first," Naruto said sincerely.

They quickly arrived at his apartment and unlocked it, stepping inside as the blonde flipped the lights on.

Hinata quickly took in the surroundings of the apartment, and had to admit that she was somewhat surprised at how…acceptable the place looked. There were marks on the wall that had obviously had a quick patch job to repair some sort of damage recently, and the ceiling seemed to be in a similar state.

However, despite the state of the walls, the place was relatively homely. There were some basic furnishings in place, mainly a couch, 2 chairs, and a low table in front of the couch. Taking a small glance to her left when she stepped inside, she could also see that the kitchen had several basic appliances as well. An small electric stove, a fridge, a toaster, among other things.

The most surprising thing, however, was simply how clean the place was. Despite the walls being damaged, everything on the interior was spotless. On a personal level, this was something she was absolutely not expecting. Her ex-clan had stressed cleanliness in her life, but even she had not been methodical enough to leave the place spotless.

"So…" Naruto stated, bringing the lavender-eyed girl out of her stupor as she continued to stand in the doorway. She quickly realized what she was doing and turned around, shutting the door. "Still hungry?"

At the mere mention of food, Hinata's stomach let out a growl, unwilling to let its' owner speak for it.

"I'll take that as a yes," the blonde said with a warm smile towards her as he set the meager bag of groceries he still had on the counter of the kitchen. "It will take me a little bit to cook, you could take a shower while I do that."

Hinata, however, just cocked her head to the side in a bit of confusion. "W-w-what's a shower?"

"Uh…" the blonde stated, thinking how best to phrase it. "It's…like a different kind of bath."

The blue-haired girl had to resist the urge to demand he let her take the shower immediately. If there was one thing she truly missed about her previous life other than being with her family and basic necessities, it was taking a relaxing bath.

"I-I-I d-d-don't have a-a-anything t-t-to…" Hinata said sheepishly as she looked at her rather pathetic clothes after thinking about it for a few moments.

"That's okay," the blue-eyed boy responded after a moment of thinking. "You can just wear some of my clothes until I talk to Jiji about getting you stuff." He ran some water into a small pot before he walked out of the kitchen area, beckoning Hinata to follow.

He arrived in the bathroom, and then beckoned her over to a small standing shower within. He turned the knobs on the wall, giving it a few moments before he spoke to her.

"Okay," he stated as he gave Hinata another smile. "Put your hand under the water and tell me if it's too hot or cold."

The girl did so, letting the skin douse the lower part of her arm rather nicely as she closed her eyes at the warmth.

"I-i-it feels f-f-fine, t-t-thank y-you."

Naruto nodded his head, giving her another smile.

"Okay, I'm going to get you some clean clothes. I'll leave them right outside the door. There's soap and stuff along the wall in there." He then stepped to a closet door that was in the bathroom, taking a towel and a rag off of the shelf, putting them on the sink for her to use.

"Just do what you would usually do for a bath. I'll be in the kitchen when you're done, okay?"

"O-o-okay. T-t-t-thank y-y-you, N-N-Naruto-k-kun," Hinata responded.

The blonde, in return, reached his hand behind his head and scratched it absent-mindedly. "You're welcome." He then stepped outside of the bathroom, closing the door on the way out. Then, walking into his bedroom, he quickly ruffled through his dresser and pulled out one of his new orange shirts and a pair of shorts. Pausing for a moment to think about it, he also decided to pull out a pair of clean boxers that Hawk had helped him purchase.

Taking all of these clothes, he carefully laid them down in front of the bathroom door before he returned to the kitchen. He quickly flipped on one of the areas of the electric stove, and moved the pot on top of it. He then poured in some of the instant ramen he had to boil the noodles properly. He dumped in several packs at once, knowing all too well that only a small pack wouldn't be enough. Hinata may not like ramen as much as he did, but it wouldn't hurt to be safe.

One pack of ramen would usually take around 3 minutes to cook, under normal circumstances. However, thanks to the extra noodles, initially cold water, and a very poor quality stove, it ended up being around 10. Once it was finished, he got out a relatively large bowl from underneath the sink and dumped all of it inside, then set it on the round table he had in the kitchen. He also set out two bowls and 2 pairs of chopsticks to go along with it.

Perking his ears a bit, it was clear that the shower was still running. Deciding that she probably just wanted to relax in the shower a bit, he decided to dig in. However, after 3 bowls of his favorite food and another 20 minutes, the blonde was getting a bit worried. Moving to the bathroom door, he put his ear to the door and tried to listen for anything other than the sound of cascading water.

_Sob_

He knocked on the door, ensuring it was loud enough to hear.

"Hinata, are you okay?" He somewhat shouted, making sure he could be heard.

_Sob_

"Dammit," the blonde whispered, picking up on the swear from Hawk over the past few days. He picked up the folded clothes on the ground. He then opened the door and took a look inside of the standing shower. What he saw was about what he expected from the sound of the sobbing that came through the door.

Hinata was sitting under the cascading water with her knees drawn up to her chest, sobbing audibly. She didn't even appear to have noticed him entering the room with how bad it seemed to be. Moving relatively quickly, the blonde put the fresh clothes on the sink and took the dry towel that was still there. He walked over and turned off the water supply, quickly cutting the flow of cascading water before he took in the girl's appearance a bit more.

Still being 5, he didn't really understand a major difference between male and female anatomy, nor did he have thoughts that would make him blush at seeing it. Instead, all he really saw was an upset girl in front of him. Someone who had seemingly been through a lot, just like his other friends had.

After shutting off the water, he wrapped the towel around her a bit, noticing that she was shivering because the water had become cold. She still had her knees up to her chest though, so it would only do so much. After he did, he took a seat behind her on the cold floor, not really minding that his shorts were getting wet. He wrapped his arms around the towel as best he could, giving her a somewhat awkward hug from behind as he wrapped his arms over the towel to keep it on her a bit better.

Hinata's head finally looked around to him, seemingly recognizing that someone was in the bathroom with her. The lavender-eyed girl was obviously educated a bit better than the blonde, but she didn't really realize the awkwardness of the situation either. Instead, her sobbing increased from what it was before.

'_Now he's definitely going to get rid of me,' _Hinata thought. _'He'll think I'm weak just like dad did.' _

"It's okay," Naruto whispered as he rubbed the towel over her arms and legs a bit to get her slightly warmer. "You don't have to hold back. You can cry."

Hinata's sobs only increased exponentially at hearing that, despite having been doing it for quite some time now. Her eyes were obviously a very disturbing shade of red by this point, even as tears continued to flow down her face. They sat there, Naruto doing his best to dry her off as she continued to cry, for around 10 minutes.

"Come on," Naruto said softly as he continued to rub the towel over her a bit more to try to give her some more warmth. "You don't have to stop crying, but you need to get up and get clothes on. You'll get sick if you stay like this."

The blue-haired girl, while still in a very sad state, gave a small nod as his words finally broke through. She attempted to stand, but found her legs too weak to do it on her own, likely due to her distressed state of mind. However, as she was about to fall back on her rump, she felt an arm in the small of her back help her continue upward as another held her hand for support.

After managing to stand on her own, though she was quite shaky, she took the towel and dried off as best as she was able to. Mostly, she just ran it behind her a few times over where she was still excessively wet. She also ran it along her thighs since the blonde hadn't run the towel in that general vicinity. Afterwards, he helped her into the clothes he had lain out. It didn't fit perfectly, but it was a pretty decent fit.

They were both around the same hip size, so the boxers and shorts fit perfectly. The shirt, however, draped over her a bit further than she probably would've liked. The sleeves, which were supposed to be short, also dropped below her shoulders. However, it fit and she could be comfortable in it, which was all that was important for the time being.

"T-t-t-thank y-you," Hinata said softly with a strained voice as she finished dressing. After the shower, and crying, she did honestly feel substantially better. She was currently wiping away what remained of the tear trails on her cheeks, which only took a few moments. After she was finished, she looked over to the blonde who had done so much for her and just saw him giving a warm smile in her direction.

"It's not a problem," he said softly. "There's food on the kitchen table if you're still hungry."

Hinata, in return, was about to respond if it weren't for her stomach growling out loudly.

Naruto just smiled a little wider in response. "Go ahead. I need to grab your clothes and start some laundry anyway."

Hinata, as a response, was about to volunteer to do it herself. However, before she could, her stomach growled out again and she blushed. Having that happen was rather rude, and it was rather embarrassing.

"There is a bowl and chopsticks already out there. Go eat, Hinata."

"T-t-thank you," Hinata said with a bow before she slowly willed herself out of the bathroom and into the kitchen.

After throwing her cloths and some of his own into the laundry, the blonde made his way into the kitchen as well. He wasn't too surprised when he saw that the remaining ramen he had left was now gone, and the lavender-eyed girl seemed to be struggling to not fall asleep in the chair. After all, she had been through quite a bit. Going from being on the streets to actually being under a roof as well as eating her fill for the first time in around a week and having a hot shower would usually leave a person rather exhausted.

"Tired?" Naruto asked, already knowing the answer all too well.

"H-h-hai," Hinata said in a voice that showed it was definitely the truth.

Naruto immediately went over to the table and put the empty bowls that were still on the table in the sink, content to just wash them a little later.

"Come on," he said softly as he turned and walked out of the kitchen. "I'll show you where you'll sleep tonight."

He showed her into his bedroom, where she wordlessly went inside and collapsed upon the bed rather quickly. It was quite likely that she would've protested if she had realized that she was taking the only bed in the apartment, but she was still used to a place having multiple bedrooms. As such, she didn't even mentally question where the blonde would be sleeping. Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.

Naruto, meanwhile, just smiled in the doorway before he softly closed the door.

'_She might've had a family before…but now she's just like us,' _Naruto thought as he walked into the kitchen to wash the dishes he had placed in the sink earlier. _'I don't know which one would be worse. To have a family and lose them, or to never have them at all.'_

* * *

And done, hope you enjoyed.

I tried to make the Naru/Hina interaction here as good as possible. The only problem I would nitpick myself on is that Naruto might seem a bit too mature in his wording choice for his age/education level. I tried to tune that down as much as possible, but there were some ideas I couldn't really get across in any other way that I could think of.

So yeah, Caged Bird seal. You'll get a full story on that eventually, but not for quite a while yet. All you need to be aware of for the time being is that she got kicked out of the clan and branded with it. Any Hyūga member that sees her is to ignore her completely, as are any others within the village if they don't want the same to happen to them. As such, a lot of people will just ignore her, as the Hyūga hold a lot of power and have a lot of sway in businesses in Konoha. I know, they're dicks right?

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all in the next chapter.


	6. Sensei

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto, nor do I want to.

Chapter 6: Sensei

* * *

(3 days after last chapter)

Naruto was in a foul mood. He was, quite possibly, angrier than he had ever been before. However, it wasn't without good reason.

When Hinata had arrived, the Kyūbi festival had been 2 days away. As such, the day after she arrived, the Hokage was too preoccupied to be able to make room for a visit. Despite being a bit frustrated at the news, it was certainly understandable.

He had decided to wait until after the festival was over, which worked out for the best as several people tried to do harm to his apartment throughout the night. They had, naturally, been apprehended Hawk immediately as he had been assigned to watch over them that night. They had elected to have a bit of a sleepover after the first incident, so everyone within the complex was introduced to the shy ex-Hyūga.

While she didn't tell her story, it was clear to everyone that she was just like them now. Shunned, unwanted, and cast out from a group of people. Instead of questioning her, they openly welcomed her. Anko specifically welcomed her, claiming that she would finally get to talk to another girl about things.

It was a fun night, regardless of the shouts of the villagers as they walked by. Naruto purposely neglected to mention that it was his birthday that night, as he wasn't fond of the date due to his time at the orphanage. The people there were always a lot meaner on his birthday, though he wasn't sure why.

The group didn't do much, but just talking and having others around made everyone feel a lot more comfortable. Hinata had been astounded, as she had never had friends of her own age before. However, she quickly grew a lot happier over the night compared to her previously depressed demeanor. She had also never realized that Naruto was sleeping on the couch, but that was likely to change sooner or later.

The next day, however, was what ruined the mood of the blonde. He walked the distance to the Hokage tower, and walked in happily. Walking out, however, he was in a bit of fury. Not only had Hiruzen told him the story of what happened to the girl in his apartment, but there was also absolutely nothing he could do to help her without royally pissing off the entire council. In the end, he was not allowed to interfere with non-ninja clan affairs that were not under mortal peril, and homelessness didn't classify as that. He could offer her no money, no apartment, nor any kind of protection of his own.

However, Naruto would make do. After he was told this, he made a vow to himself, the Hokage, and to even Hawk who was in the room with him.

'_I will protect her, and I will protect my friends. I will become a ninja myself, and I will make the idiots on the council change! It's a promise, and Uzumaki Naruto never breaks a promise!'_

Hearing such a proclamation from the son of his successor/predecessor, Hiruzen couldn't stop himself from doing what he could to help the boy. He may not be able to help Hinata since it was a Hyūga clan affair, but he could certainly help the blonde. As such, since he seemed quite serious about it, Hiruzen promised that he would get a very special sensei to help him along his way. While he was at it, Hiruzen would also allow Gaara to learn from the man he was thinking of as well. The rest of the dwellers at the apartment, however, would have to wait until they were old enough to enter the ninja academy. If nothing else, he could sway Danzo over to his side by claiming it was his version of "weaponizing" the two.

It wasn't that, of course, but Hiruzen wasn't a Kage for nothing. They would become substantially stronger, that much was true, but they needed to be in order to defend themselves later on in the future. After all, he wouldn't be around to protect them forever.

Despite being somewhat happy with getting a sensei later today, however, the blonde couldn't help but take it with a grain of salt. The fact of the matter was that he was going to be in a bit of trouble financially. He wasn't going to kick Hinata out, so he'd have to cut back on spending. However, that was going to prove to be somewhat difficult if he was going to be doing things with a sensei. He would survive for now, but he had a hunch that he would need to buy certain things to use once training started. He saw the pouches and gear most shinobi wore, so it was easy to guess that he'd probably need those as well.

It was in this mindset that he opened up his apartment door and stepped inside, noting that Hinata wasn't in the living room.

"Hinata?" Naruto called, curious as to where she would've gone.

"Ah!" He heard from a distance. "N-N-Naruto," Hinata stated as she somewhat rushed into the living room from what looked to be a small closet. "H-H-How did t-t-the m-m-meeting g-go?"

"A little…different than I wanted it to," he admitted. "Jiji said he can't really help too much because of stupid rules that the council made up or something."

"Oh…." Hinata said, clearly crestfallen.

"So…" Naruto continued, "you're going to be stuck here for a little while."

"I-I-I don't w-w-want t-to b-b-be a b-b-burden," Hinata said, copying what her father had usually addressed her as.

"Don't be silly," the blonde said with a smile towards the saddened girl. "I'm not going to let you go on the street again."

The girl looked up, curiosity in her eyes as much as gratitude.

"W-w-why?" Hinata asked plainly. She realized she probably shouldn't question it, but she couldn't help herself.

"Because you're just like the rest of us," Naruto responded without missing a beat. "Just like Gaara, Lee, Anko, and even like me. Jiji told me everything."

"Y-y-you still w-want me a-a-around e-even after y-y-you k-know about m-m-my f-father?" Hinata asked with a voice that was quickly becoming strained, quite likely on the verge of crying.

"Of course!" Naruto responded immediately again but with a large smile this time. "What are friends for?" He walked forward a bit, intending to go to the couch to grab a seat, but was caught somewhat off-guard when he was wrapped up in a rather fierce hug. Glancing down just slightly since they were almost the same height, he saw Hinata's head burying itself into his neck.

"Thank you," she said shakily, but without a stutter as he felt a few tears hit his neck. "Thank you…"

He then spent the next hour or so next to the girl, comforting her through everything. Despite her tears, it was clear she was happier than she was before. He explained the entire meeting with the Hokage, even the parts about him meeting a sensei and the bits about the ninja academy as well. After speaking, they came to the conclusion that it definitely sounded as if it were for the best. Naruto even encouraged her to enroll when she turned 8, which she had to admit she somewhat liked the idea of even if she was a bit nervous about the possibility.

After the hour was up, however, they were interrupted from their conversation by a knock on the door. Getting up, Naruto quickly answered it to find the familiar face mask of Hawk.

"Are you ready to meet your sensei?" The young man asked plainly.

"Hai," Naruto responded before turning back towards the girl in the apartment. "I'll be back later Hinata." After receiving a nod from the girl as well as a wish of good luck, he closed the door behind him as he proceeded over a few doors with the masked ANBU agent and arrived at Gaara's door. After retrieving him, Hawk placed a hand on both of the boy's shoulders and immediately used a **Body Flicker Technique** to transport them to a training ground outside of Konoha's gates. In particular, a very special and fenced off training ground.

The chained fence around the entire area was absolutely riddled with seals, and no one in their right mind would try to break through it unless they had the Hokage's permission. In particular, they had to have signed a particular blood seal to be able to get through the perimeter without any serious amount of harm. The Sandaime, in his wisdom, had already signed said seal with small samples of Naruto and Gaara's blood that he had on hand. Hawk had signed it just recently, about half an hour ago.

"Okay," Hawk said as he arrived and smiled behind his mask at how disoriented the two boys seemed. "First thing is first," he said as he reached his hand up and unclipped his mask, clipping it onto his belt instead.

"My real name, and the one you will address me as from now on while my mask is off, is Uchiha Shisui. I will be the sensei of you two until Hokage-sama says otherwise. In particular, you will address me as Shisui-sensei. Is that understood?"

"Hai, Shisui-sensei," the two boys responded after taking a moment to compose themselves.

"Good," the black-haired Uchiha responded. "Now, I think I already know you two well enough, and I'm not quite willing to give out information about myself yet. Instead of doing any introductions, I'm going to have you two do the same thing my sensei made me do before we even start."

The two boys looked up at him expectantly, almost hanging off of his every word. He had to admit, it felt somewhat nice to be in charge of kids so young. He would come to realize the downfalls of the sensei job later.

"You're both going to tell me your way of the ninja," Shisui said as he held his index finger up in a way that attempted to make him look a lot more knowledgeable than he was in reality. He was smart, and definitely mature for his age, but he still liked to play around with things like this.

"Way of the ninja?" Gaara asked as he cocked his head to the side. "What's that?"

"It's…" Shisui paused as he thought of how exactly he wanted to phrase it. "It's sort of like a promise to yourself. It's the reason you push yourself to be the best ninja you can be."

"Can you give us an example?" Gaara asked, not really getting an idea of what he meant.

"Sure," Shisui said happily. "Let's use my own, since I'm about to hear yours anyway, it's only fair to trade. My way of the ninja is to protect the village from any threat by any means necessary. Since I want to protect the village, I want to become as strong as I can so that I can protect it better. Understand?"

Without confirming that he understood, Naruto spoke as he remembered his promise from earlier.

"To protect my friends," Naruto said immediately. "My way of the ninja is to protect my friends and to make the villagers see they were bakas to be mean to us. I will become as strong as I can to do it."

Shisui nodded, though he was somewhat weary about it.

"That is a good goal," he stated as he thought about the blonde's situation. "However, how will you show it to the villagers? How far would you go?"

Naruto contorted his face, giving the question some serious thought. "I…would show them that I can be really amazing and strong. If I get strong enough, then they will have to accept me and my friends."

Shisui nodded, happy to hear his answer. He didn't seem to hold much if any malice towards the villagers, and he merely strived for acceptance. If any malice came out, he would be sure to eliminate it completely before it got too far.

"And you?" Shisui asked as he inclined his head towards Gaara.

"The same as Naruto," he responded immediately. "I want to be strong enough…to protect my friends."

"Why?" Shisui asked plainly, wanting him to explain his reason out loud. His sensei did the same thing, as it made them think on their life for the best reason to become stronger. Having a good reason to make one stronger proved to be good motivation.

"They…saved me," Gaara responded as he took a deep breath. "In Suna, I had no one who would talk to me. I was lonely to the point that I thought I was hearing a voice in my head."

Shisui's eyes widened a bit at this, but he kept a rather stoic expression on his face. It was definitely something to report to the Hokage.

"However," the red head continued, "my friends made it stop. They liked me for who I was, even if I hurt them by accident with my sand. They stopped the voice, and helped me be able to sleep. I…I want to be able to protect them for what they did for me."

The Uchiha immediately nodded. It was as noble of a goal as there was. To protect one's loved ones…that was the goal of a great many fine shinobi.

"Good," Shisui said after hearing it explained. "That is a very noble goal. Now…how old are the two of you exactly?"

"I will be 6 in January," Gaara responded.

"I turned 6 yesterday," Naruto replied, getting a somewhat surprised look from both of those present as they knew he hadn't mentioned it when they were around.

"Alright then," Shisui said, trying to ignore the obvious question of why he didn't celebrate it until later. "I think it'll be a little while before you two can actually work on your chakra. Even with Gaara's sand, it's not really a chakra network doing it…"

"…Chakra?" Naruto asked as he cocked his head to the side. "What's that?"

Shisui slowly brought his hand up to his face after he saw the redhead give him a similar look of confusion. He had to resist the urge to slap his palm to his head, which he _barely_ managed to do. However, it didn't stop him from dragging the hand down his face in an exaggerated manner.

"You two are going to have a lot of reading to do…" Shisui said, thankful that he could at least give them books to do that much. Gaara had been taught to read and write, while Naruto had thankfully managed to learn from a combination of himself and his friends. "For now…let's get started on physical stuff."

"What kind of physical stuff?" Gaara asked, not really having been one for a great deal of exercise.

Shisui responded by raising his index finger up in the air again, as if he were about to drop some great wisdom upon them.

"You will both be…running," he said as the boy's immediately fell flat on their faces afterwards. Gaara on his relatively soft sand while Naruto hit the unforgiving earth. "A lot," he added, almost causing them to fall again as they were standing up.

"The greatest shinobi in the world generally have a few things in common," he stated as he drew their undivided attention to them again. "Chief among them, is incredibly high speed. The simple fact is that if you can move faster than your opponent, then you can generally win. A child can kill a Kage with 1 well strike. If you move and are used to incredibly high speeds, then you will have a much easier time landing said strike. Do you understand?"

"Hai," both boys responded. He had phrased it in simple enough terms to where they weren't confused by anything.

"Personally, I place value on speed almost more than anything else. While you two are training with me, you _will_ become faster than anyone else your age or I will stop teaching you. To start getting faster, what do you think you have to do?"

"…Run," Naruto responded in a depressed tone as Gaara nodded his agreement.

"That's right," Shisui said with a smile. "Run around the inside of the fence 10 times as fast as you can. After you're done, we'll work on teaching you how to throw a proper punch, kick, and other basic stuff."

"Hai, sensei," both boys responded as they took off. Gaara had started to put his gourd down, but Shisui told him to keep it on for the time being. After all, if he was going to carry all that sand around then he would have to be used to it.

'_Pretty good goals for one so young,' _Shisui thought as he watched the two boys run. _'Eager to learn, a good deal of energy too…this might not be so bad. Of course, getting S-rank mission pay every week doesn't hurt either…' _ He had to suppress a huge grin from crossing his face at the thought of how fat his paycheck would be.

* * *

(6 hours later)

'_If I ever have to run again…it'll be too soon,' _the blonde thought as he managed to struggle up the last stair to the floor of the apartment complex that his apartment was on. Running, training in basic combat maneuvers, more running, upper body work, and _more_ running. His muscles felt like they were ablaze.

Naruto shakily put his hand on the doorknob to his apartment and turned it with what felt like a great deal of effort. As soon as he swung the door open, he put his other arm around the collapsed figure to his left and drug him inside. After he got the boy's feet into the door, he dropped him with a resounding _thud_ and quickly dropped the gourd on his back that he was carrying for him down by his side. He quickly turned around and shut the door to the apartment before swaying on his feet a bit as Anko and Hinata looked at him questioningly from his couch.

He swayed on his feet a bit longer, seeing their mouths move but not really hearing what they were saying.

Before he collapsed in exhaustion, he managed to utter out two words.

"Nighty night"

With that, he fell face-first onto the floor with a solid thus and proceeded to snore almost immediately. Yeah, it was going to be a long few years if things kept up like this. Silly Naruto, as if things would stay _that_ easy.

* * *

And another chapter done. So yup, Shisui is their sensei, getting ideas as to where this is headed yet?

Anyway, I don't really have a great deal of information on Shisui except that he was loyal to the village just like Itachi was. Other than that, and the fact he apparently skilled at Body Flicker, I'm pretty much developing his personality myself. I intend to make him kinda like…Naruto's older brother more than anything else. You'll get the picture later.

Other than that, not really a whole lot to comment on for this chapter. Again, I _will_ detail the reason Hinata was kicked out later, just not yet. As I said, that comes a lot later.

That all said, see you all in the next chapter.


	7. Chakra

Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto, still don't want to.

Chapter 7: Chakra

(6 months later)

6 months had passed since Gaara and Naruto began receiving training from Shisui, and it definitely showed. Despite being so young, the two boys had put on a good deal of muscle, particularly in their legs. He certainly was not fooling them when he said he prioritized speed so highly.

For the 6 months of training, it had been more of the same for the most part. Running, body work, running, form work, more running, a brief break, and right back to it all again. The two boys could likely move as fast as an academy student already, which was a rather impressive feat at still being around 2 years away from attending themselves

A few noteworthy events had happened over the 6 months, though it wasn't anything overly major. Primarily, Naruto had received help in covering the extra costs Hinata brought to his apartment. After having been forced to skip a meal or two and getting called out on it, Shisui had taken money out of his own paychecks to make sure the boy at least had the proper food. Regardless of the Uchiha/Hyūga power squabble, he knew it was the right thing to do since his student was going so far to help her and he was getting paid so highly to look out for him.

The Uchiha's kindness didn't stop there, however, as he had also gotten the boy's proper training gear. Primarily, he purchased a set of full-body training weights for the two of them. The plates, which were primarily located along the legs and arms, were able to have their weight adjusted by a unique chakra signature that had to be put into a seal located on the central binding for them all. He had gifted them to the boys, but they didn't wear them for the time being since they couldn't use chakra to adjust the weight anyway. As such, though they were theirs, the black haired Uchiha kept them in a bag until they could use the suits properly. Shisui could set the weight himself, but then it would only change from his chakra signature. He thought it best to wait until they could use chakra themselves before he made them start wearing the accessories.

Aside from the weights, he had also gotten them proper clothes. Nothing fancy since they would outgrow it too quickly, but still some decent stuff. Mostly 3 black t-shirts and 3 pairs of black pants each, along with a pair of proper sandals. He had also thought ahead and gotten them shuriken and kunai sets, but he was holding onto those until a later date. Preferably, once again, after they tapped into their chakra network.

Aside from that, the only major thing to have changed was the situation within his apartment. Hinata found out he was sleeping on the couch, and he had to talk to her for days before she finally didn't feel guilty about him not sleeping on his own bed.

Speaking of the blue-haired girl, however, she had changed moderately over the time frame. She traveled outside now, more than willing to walk amongst the villagers even though she was ignored most of the time. This was due to her change in personality as her and Anko became the best of friends. It was clear that Anko gave the girl confidence, while Hinata also taught Anko a bit about being more graceful and some amount of manners. Drastically less change was seen in the purple-haired girl, but it was still enough to notice.

The major change to Hinata was that her stutter was all but gone. It would still come up around important individuals, such as the Hokage on his very rare visits, but she was confident among her friends. With time, it would likely become that way with everyone. She was even incredibly excited about thoughts of the academy now that she knew she would be attending with so many of her friends.

Naruto was thinking of all of this as he sat on the ground in a cross-legged position with his palms up in the air on his lap. Mediating, as Shisui had called it, was one of the best ways to search for one's chakra network. It was the first time in their training that he was actually having them _try_ to find it. Naruto thought back on his words as he continued.

'_Meditating, as this is called, helps to focus one's mind. Personally, I don't really like it all that much. For this, however, it's actually helpful. The best way I can describe it to you two is to calm yourself. Then you have to almost…well…reach inside of yourself to find a pit of warmth. Once you find it, you grab on and pull. I doubt it will take you two too long to find it.' _

That had been just around 5 minutes ago, but it seemed to be normal judging by how their sensei was just patiently continuing to watch them both. He usually did his own training while they were working, so it was somewhat unusual for him to be around unless he was going to do a demonstration. It was clear that he thought this was rather important.

Before he could think on the matter further, however, he felt it. A pit of warmth somewhere around his stomach. Reaching his mental hand forward, he grabbed on and pulled, feeling a building warmth spread throughout his entire body as he gasped and opened his eyes. Gaara, similarly, gasped and opened his eyes simultaneously. Despite the ridiculous odds that would say it was nearly impossible, they had seemingly tapped into their chakra networks at the same time.

Shisui simply smiled, as he activated his normal Sharingan, seeing the light glow around them that always occurred when someone first tapped into their chakra.

"Good job," he stated with enthusiasm. He had expected they would get it within the first few days, but to get it within 10 minutes was rather impressive. Especially the fact that both of them had gotten it.

"Now that you've both gotten that…" Shisui stated with a bit of an evil grin. "You get to start working on chakra control along with everything else."

"Chakra control?" Gaara asked as he quickly became accustomed to the feeling circulating his body. "I…am confused. I thought once we unlocked our chakra that we could use it when we wanted?"

"That's true, to a point," Shisui stated as he deactivated his Sharingan. "You can currently use chakra in general with the help of hand seals to activate jutsu. As it is right now, you could do things like the **Clone Jutsu** or other techniques, but I prioritize control over doing things like that first."

"Why's that?" Naruto asked, actually having followed along in the conversation thus far.

"Ah, good question," Shisui stated as he took a moment to think of how to phrase his answer. "Let me ask you this, do you know _why_ we perform hand seals for most of our techniques?"

Naruto immediately looked to Gaara, who was by far the more educated of the two. However, after a moment of intense thought, he slowly shook his head as the red head looked stumped.

"It's understandable, you two are too young to have really been taught about it yet," the young Uchiha stated in sincerity. "Okay, well to put it simply, we use hand seals for our techniques to "mold" the chakra in certain areas of our bodies in certain ways."

Seeing the two boys' heads cock to the side, he immediately knew he had gone a bit too far too quickly.

"Let me rephrase," Shisui said as he gave it more thought. "You know that chakra is composed of 2 parts, right?"

Gaara nodded, but Naruto's head cocked to the side again, resulting in Shisui slapping his face with his hand.

"Okay Naruto, your chakra is composed of 2 different parts. I won't get into details right now, but just know that it's 2 different things that make it what it is, okay?"

Naruto nodded, being able to at least understand that much.

"Okay," Shisui said, giving more thought as to what to say next. "Now, depending on which jutsu you use, it takes different amounts of each part to use. Still with me so far?"

"So…some jutsu take more of one part, while other jutsu take more of the other?" Naruto asked, trying to simplify it a bit more.

"Yes," Shisui said with a smile, happy he had gotten the idea across. "Now, the hand seals we use help to mold our chakra in certain ways to get the right amount of each part we need. Still with me?"

Both boys nodded, much to his pleasure. Maybe he should write a scroll for this stuff later.

"Okay, now aside from the "amounts" of each part we need, we also have to do other things to the chakra for jutsu to work. Choosing which part of the body to send the chakra to, as an example. You wouldn't want a jutsu that's supposed to come out of your mouth to come out of your hands instead."

Both boys nodded again. Naruto may have been a bit dense at times, but even he could understand the concept of not wanting a jutsu to go to the wrong part of your body.

"Hand seals also help direct our chakra to that specific part of the body," he explained. "However, there is another way to do that part without hand seals. Generally, you would add 1 or 2 hand seals to determine what part of the body the technique will go to. However, what's the one important aspect of a shinobi that I've driven into you both?"

"Speed," they answered simultaneously, making him smile again briefly.

"Correct," he responded. "So, can you see why cutting out those few hand seals could be helpful?"

"…Because it will allow us to use techniques a bit faster?" Gaara asked more than answered.

"Yes," Shisui answered. "Having good chakra control allows you to control the "flow" of chakra to parts of your body so you don't have to use the hand seals to direct where the chakra is supposed to flow, thus making the technique a bit faster to pull off. Chakra control also provides additional benefits as well. Primarily, having good control allows you to cut back any wasted chakra you use on a technique."

"Wasted chakra?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Mmhmm," the Uchiha boy hummed in response as he picked up a small pinch of dirt from the ground. "Let's say that a jutsu you want to use should take this much chakra." He dropped the earth to the ground, emphasizing just how much was there. "However, even though it only _requires_ that much, you use about _this_ much chakra." As he put emphasis on _this_, he picked up a large handful of dirt and let it drop to the ground next to the small pile the pinch of dirt had made.

"Now, if you use the large amount, the technique _will_ still usually work," Shisui stated honestly. "However, can you see why it would be beneficial to remove the wasted amount?"

"I'm still…kinda confused, Shisui-sensei," Naruto admitted. "Wouldn't….wouldn't using more chakra make the jutsu more powerful?"

"Sometimes," Shisui admitted honestly. "However, there are also jutsu we use where the waste won't help you in any way whatsoever. The one I have earned my moniker from is a good example of that."

"Which one is that?" Naruto asked in a curious tone.

"The **Body Flicker Technique**," Shisui stated as he immediately used it to get behind them without any seals. He then placed a hand on both of their heads and ruffled their hair playfully, getting them to turn towards him in a bit of awe.

"That uses a burst of chakra in your legs and a small amount through the rest of your body to move you incredibly quickly. However, using more chakra in the technique won't help you at all. You can't use the technique any longer, nor will it carry you any faster. However, if you manage your chakra well using good chakra control, you can use it repeatedly."

Gaara and Naruto seemed to be in a bit of thought about what he said, so he continued on.

"Now, I won't lie to you, some shinobi consider good chakra control to be beyond their capabilities. However, you need to have at least a certain mastery of it. Here, let me show you how else it can help you." Shisui then walked over to a nearby tree that was encompassed in their usual training ground, and wordlessly stepped up the tree and clung to the side. After walking a few steps, he turned and looked at the gawking boys who were staring at him with their jaws dropped.

"This is one of the more…widely-used applications of chakra control," he explained. "You can imagine that sticking to walls or roofs with nothing but your feet could be helpful when you're trying to hide or surprise someone."

Both boys nodded, immediately seeing how that could be helpful.

"It will also allow you to walk on water eventually. Later, if you decide to keep practicing it, you can develop techniques that can heal others or make people see things that aren't there if you have good enough control. Do you understand why I'm going to be making you do this now?"

"Hai, sensei," was the mutual response from the two boys. He smiled at them briefly before they came running over to the tree as he beckoned them. "Now, take these," he said as he handed each boy a kunai. "Today, for about an hour or two, you two are going to try your best to get up the tree. All you need to do is channel chakra to the bottom of each of your feet. The only tip I'm willing to give you is that you need to keep a steady amount of chakra on each foot, or you'll end up failing. You will use the kunai I gave you to mark your progress up the tree. I also recommend you get a bit of a running start at first, as it can help. Don't expect to get this right away, either. It took me around a day to get it down."

Both boys nodded before Naruto moved away to a tree nearby while Gaara stood at the one Shisui had walked up before. They sent each other a wordless look, and they knew the challenge was on. Even on the sidelines, the Uchiha boy grinned as he saw a friendly challenge beginning to take shape.

"May I take off the gourd, Shisui-sensei?" Gaara asked.

Giving it some thought, Shisui shook his head. "If we think of an alternative option to store your sand, then I will consider letting you take it off. Until then, I expect you to do most of your training with it on. Doing it without being used to the weight would just make you feel off-balance when you actually have it on during a mission or something."

Gaara nodded, seeing the point in his words before he wordlessly charged the tree…smashing right into it with a curse. The Uchiha smirked as he watched the blonde do the same thing not 3 seconds later.

"Alright, you two keep working on that," Shisui stated as he began to stretch. "I'm going to get my run in. I'll be around, but don't holler at me unless you either finish or someone's hurt, okay?"

Both boys nodded, but didn't show any other form of acknowledgement as they charged at the trees again, driven to be the first one to the top.

_Thump. Thump. _

"Ah, it's good to be the sensei," Shisui said with a grin as the boys walked away from the trees holding their heads. He then began to jog around the area, working his way up into a sprint after a few minutes.

* * *

(An hour and a half later)

Shisui was panting moderately as he came up to the trees where the boys were working. He was moderately surprised to see that they had already made it about a sixth of the way up the tree. While he had been a bit quicker, they also had significantly larger reserves than he did when he was so young. He had purposely neglected to mention that it would be harder for them, as he wanted them to strive to beat the time of a week that he had finished it in.

Taking a closer look, he saw that the bottom of the trees were covered in foot imprints, showing off the areas that they had tried to step down with too much chakra. They seemed to decrease in number as they went up the tree, but they were still quite numerous. It was then that he glanced down and saw both of the boy's panting on the ground.

"Only about a sixth of the way up?" Shisui asked with a mock tone of disappointment. "I was expecting a bit more." In actuality, he was really impressed. They were younger than he was, and it was their first day of working knowingly with their chakra pools. Despite that, a sixth of the way wasn't bad at all. However, he was surprised when he saw both of them grin and point high in the tree, not bothering to try and respond vocally through their pants for air.

Glancing up and looking a bit closer, the Uchiha's eyes widened when he saw marks about two thirds of the way up the tree. What was more surprising was the fact that there wasn't a single foot imprint above the one sixth marker.

"We…figured…it…out," Gaara stated with winced eyes as he panted for more air between words. "Too…much…bad…too…little…also…bad."

Shisui simply stood above his two students with a bit of shock, though he wasn't going to show it other than his slightly widened eyes.

'_Over half way in under two hours on their first day working with that massive amount of chakra. These kids are going to be amazing…' _Shisui thought as he simply stood and finally let a little bit of a smirk come across his face.

"Not quite as bad as I thought it would be," he said, encouraging them to try a bit harder but at the same time praising them. "Tell you what…if you guys can finish it before today is over, then I'll give you a present."

It took a few minutes, but eventually the boys gathered enough inner-strength to go at it again. He was rather astounded to watch and see them make it _almost_ to the top before they began to slip and fall. As they landed, they took a few moments to gather their breath before they rushed up once again. Though it was only by a mere moment, Naruto managed to reach the top first with Gaara right behind him.

"Yosh!" Naruto yelled as clutched to the top of the tree with all of his limbs, as Gaara did the same on his. "I win!"

"Barely!" Gaara shouted back, though he was wearing a smile of his own.

"Still counts!" Naruto replied with a laugh.

"Come on boys, I don't have all day!" Shisui shouted up at them, which caused them to immediately slide back down the tree towards him. Once they touched the ground, they fell onto their asses and took a few deep breaths.

'_They already have pretty good stamina…I guess it really __**is**__ time to up their work out a bit. Hopefully Hokage-sama is right about their muscles mending quickly.' _

"Alright you two!" Shisui said stoically before he let a huge grin cross his face. "Good job, you completely blew away my expectations." He didn't want to let them grow an ego, but they definitely deserved the genuine praise after today. He watched as they grew huge grins on their faces, obviously enjoying the rare praise he gave.

"Since you've done so well, I have 2 things for each of you." He disappeared for a moment before he came back, holding a pack in his hands as he did. He placed it onto the ground and unzipped it, taking 2 pouches out as he tossed one to each of them.

"There's a full set of kunai and shuriken of each of those for you. I'm letting you have these, but **be careful**. If I hear you're fucking around with them, then I won't hesitate to take them away. These are **deadly**, and not just to play with. Understand?"

Both boys nodded, even as their grins widened and they opened the pouches with looks of wonder. It saddened Shisui a bit to see that they could be impressed by such simple things, but that wasn't his concern for the time being. His job was to make them become strong, and maybe he would get recognized if he did well enough.

"The next thing are these." Shisui stated as he dug around in the pack and brought out 2 sets of metal plates that were connected by a series of leather straps with a seal in the center of a large piece of leather that held everything together.

"These are your weight suits that I talked about before," Shisui answered the unasked question as they looked at him questioningly. "I want you to both place your hand over the kanji here in the center and channel some chakra into your hand. It's basically the same thing you did to your feet, but it should be a bit easier. Any amount of chakra should do."

The boys did as asked, and were treated to a light blue glow on each of the seals before they faded away into nothingness. After it faded, each plate took on a light blue glow before they also diminished into nothing.

"Good," the Uchiha boy stated as he saw the suits register their individual chakra signatures. "Now, you're probably wondering what these do, I'm guessing?"

He received a quick nod, which he had been expecting.

"Okay, to keep it short, these are weights you will be using to build up muscle and speed a bit faster. Starting tomorrow, you'll be wearing these under your normal clothes. Each weight should start at about 10 pounds, and you will slowly work up to more. I'll explain how to change the weight later."

The boys simply nodded and gave a quick thank you towards their black-haired sensei, causing him to crack a bit of a smile. He reached into his back pouch and ran his finger over something he was intending to save until a later day, but thought about it again. Truthfully, there was no harm in finding out now. He would just wait to do anything further until a bit later. Reaching in entirely, he pulled out two small squares of paper.

"One last thing before you go running," Shisui said as he held out a piece of paper to each boy, which they quickly took. "This is chakra paper. It's a special material that responds to your chakra in a way most other materials can't. Do you two know anything about elemental affinities?"

He quickly received a shake of the head from each boy. He had expected Naruto to be ignorant of it, but he had been somewhat surprised to find out that Gaara knew nothing on the topic.

"Okay…" he responded as he thought for a moment about how to phrase what he was going to say in the simplest way. "Everyone's chakra is inclined to "lean" towards a certain element. The basic elements are: Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water. Typically, chakra will lean towards one of these five."

Both boys nodded, though it was clear there was something on their minds.

"However," Shisui continued before they could respond, "there are special cases where this is not the case. Gaara's sand, for example, is caused by having a perfect balance between an Earth affinity and a Wind affinity."

Both boys' eyes widened at that, obviously having had that exact question on their minds.

"It's rare, _very _rare, but it happens. It's usually passed down within bloodlines, but it can just pop out of the blue sometimes." Shisui took a moment to pause before he looked at the both of them. "Gaara, I have a feeling that yours will register just that, so why don't you go ahead and channel some chakra into your hand?"

The red head did as requested, and the results were typical, even though the boys were slightly shocked at the result. The paper simply turned into sand in its entirety.

"Okay," Shisui said as he watched the result with a bit of interest. "That obviously shows what we were thinking. The paper, as you saw, responds according to the type of chakra you have. Normally, you would never get the response of sand because it's so rare to see an affinity like that. Gaara is quite possibly the only one on Earth that can manipulate it so well."

Both boy's stared in wonder at the sight in front of Gaara. The red head grinned a bit while the blonde couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

"Lucky!" Naruto shouted, making Gaara's grin grow just a bit more.

"Well, let's see what yours is Blondie," Shisui said in teasing manner.

Naruto nodded, immediately channeling chakra into his hand as he held the paper between his thumb and index finger. It took a moment as he felt the familiar sensation moving to his hand. As it touched it, however, the paper seemingly vanished from sight.

"Wha..?" Naruto asked before he rolled his fingers together. Putting his palm up and flicking his wrist back, he then held a small ball of wadded up paper. It was so tightly compacted that it would almost be impossible to make it straight again without it ripping.

Shisui's eyes, meanwhile, widened again. It was clear what element the boy had, he just had a hard time believing that his affinity was so high. In all chakra paper tests, it let you know two things. Primarily, it was true, that it was designed to tell you what affinity you possessed. However, as a secondary test, it also showed you how strong that affinity was. Fire would burn hotter, it would get soggier or crumble into more dirt, in Gaara's case it would turn into more sand.

In lightning's case, it would crinkle up more. Most lightning elementals made the paper look like it had been clapped or stepped on a few times. Yet, the blonde boy in front of him had crinkled it so much that it couldn't be straightened. In short, he was a _**very**_ potent lightning user.

"Congratulations, Naruto. It would seem that you have the elemental affinity for lightning."

The blonde's eyes lit up at the possibilities. Suddenly, he found himself less envious of Gaara and more proud of himself.

'_Lightning huh…I like it!' _The blue-eyed wonder thought as he let a huge grin cross his face.

"We won't be working with elemental chakra for a little while yet," Shisui said which dashed both of the boys' hopes almost immediately. "However, I figured you would both like to get an idea. That, and it lets me plan appropriately. Now…since that's done, you can guess what time it is."

"Hai sensei," the brotherly jinchūriki stated before they stood and began to walk towards the fence to begin running.

"Let's see some hustle boys!" Shisui shouted with a grin crossing his face as he saw them dejectedly begin to jog.

'_Those two really __**are**__ going to be amazing one day,' _he thought as he picked up the weight suits and moved back towards the center of the training ground. _'I only hope I can be around to see it.'_

* * *

And Chapter 7 is finished. It's my first time trying to explain some rules of the universe that weren't incredibly detailed in Canon, at least not well enough for my liking. Hopefully you can get the gist of what I'm talking about with most of it.

I always thought that Gaara's sand would be a mix of Wind and Earth, so expect him to know both of those types of jutsu, just as a forewarning. Naruto is obviously going to be primarily focused on lightning. I don't have anything against wind like he had in Canon, but I just enjoy the idea of lightning more. (Zappy zappy!)

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all in the next chapter.


	8. Choose your Style!

Disclaimer: Still down own Naruto, still don't want to.

Chapter 8: Choose your Style!

* * *

3 months had passed since the boys had tapped into their chakra. Despite the small difference in time, they had improved rather dramatically. Their muscles grew at a steadier rate now that they had the weighted suits, though they had only been brought up to 25 pounds from the initial 10 they began with. Despite it being such a small amount, Shisui would settle for nothing less than being _just_ as fast now as they were with the 10 pound weights. Until they could meet that speed, they would continue with the current level.

In terms of jutsu, they hadn't learned all that much. They had been taught how to water walk, and that one took infinitely more time than tree walking. After a few weeks of practice, however, they managed to get it down. Only after that did they begin to learn jutsu, though it wasn't anything too intense. Shisui found out quickly that they simply had too much chakra to do the usual **Clone Jutsu**, so he settled for having them master the **Transformation Jutsu** first. It had taken about a month, but they did eventually get it.

They had then begun to practice the **Body Replacement Technique**, but it was taking a while for them to master it. Though the progress was a bit slower than a usual academy graduate, they were also substantially younger and focusing on a lot more than _just_ learning the jutsu. Truthfully, they had already _learned_ the technique, but they hadn't _mastered_ it. Shisui had made it perfectly clear that they would not continue to other techniques until he deemed them mastered in his eyes, which meant using it at a split-second notice and without hand seals. All the same, it was probably for the best. After all, everyone _should_ have the academy basics mastered.

Aside from jutsu and muscle work, the boys had also begun to practice improving their aim with kunai and shuriken. For lack of a softer way to put it, they absolutely sucked with them. However, it would improve with practice. The Uchiha only allowed them to get an hour or two of practice in with them a day, so it would take a while before they were proficient with them. Most of the time, he had been improving their skill with forms for Taijutsu. He taught them nothing overly specialized just yet, mostly basic academy forms and techniques. He wanted them to be a blank slate, truth be told. Today, however, was the day he would let them choose.

This is where we find the 3, currently in the training ground after Shisui had used his **Body Flicker Technique** to warp them inside. However, this day, they were not alone. On their left stood a man dressed in ANBU armor similar to Shisui's own, wearing a crow mask over his face.

On his right however…stood a man almost everyone in the village would recognize. Then again, it was hard to miss a man with a horrible bowl-cut and clad in green spandex.

"Ah! Shisui! I see you have finally arrived with your youthful students!" The spandex-clad man yelled.

"Indeed," said the ANBU on his left as he appraised the two boys in front of him. Noticing their surprised reaction, the man turned to the Uchiha. "You haven't told them yet, have you?"

"Nope!" Shisui responded. "Going to right now."

He squatted down, bringing himself to eye level with the boys after he turned around.

"Alright boys, here's the deal," Shisui stated in a serious tone of voice. "As it stands, you're both at the end of the academy regimen for Taijutsu, and almost for their jutsu as well. However, Hokage-sama doesn't want you to stop there. You are, for the moment, blank-slates in terms of a form of physical combat."

Gaara immediately recognized what the man was getting at, but Naruto cocked his head in a familiar way that let Shisui know he wasn't really understanding.

"You have the basics down, but you need to choose what kind of badass fighting style to use," Shisui explained. Naruto's face immediately grew into a look of recognition as he nodded. "Now then, here's what I recommend. Gaara, with your sand people are going to immediately recognize that you're supposed to be a long rang fighter. I don't think there's really any getting around that with your sand, and I know you're going to rely on it quite a bit. However, you are going to need a solid form of defense aside from that in case things turn purely physical."

Gaara nodded in understanding, having already realized that close-quarters combat would likely result in trouble for him.

"I think you would do better with a mainly defensive form of combat that also has offensive capabilities based on openings your opponents leave open. Using that to ward off attacks, you can also connect sand to your opponent at close range and do some damage that way. As such, I believe the Uchiha style of combat would be best for you. Despite not having the Sharingan, it would fit you very well, at least in my opinion." Shisui ended with a look towards the ANBU next to him who nodded in agreement with his analysis.

Gaara nodded, in agreement as well. "I think that is a good idea," he stated with a smile which was returned by Shisui and the man behind the mask.

"Naruto," Shisui said as he drew the boy's attention. "You, unlike Gaara, seem more like an offensive type that uses more raw strength and speed to blow through your enemies. Naturally, you will also have defensive capabilities as well, but your style should definitely be more suited to attacking rather than defending."

The blonde immediately nodded, agreeing with his teacher. He was definitely more of an aggressive type than Gaara was.

"Therefore," Shisui continued, "I believe the Strong Fist style would fit you best as it fits all of the things I've just described. Gai-san here," Shisui said as pointed towards the spandex-clad man, "is the village's expert on the Strong Fist style. Should you choose to accept, he had agreed to show you what he can."

Naruto nodded, turning to the rather large man who was giving him a smile that seemed to send off a sparkle in his direction.

"Thank you for agreeing to teach me," Naruto said with a bow. If there was one thing spending time with Hinata and Gaara had helped him with, it was his manners. While some might think he would question Shisui pretty much pushing him towards another sensei, the blonde inherently trusted his Uchiha instructor by this point. If Shisui recommended something, he probably had a very good reason for it.

"You are most polite, young man," Gai said in a moment of honesty as he appraised the young blonde before him. "I will not lie to you, the way of the Strong Fist is a difficult one. You must push your body to it's limit, and you will have to delve deep into yourself to pull out the will to keep moving forward. Knowing this, do you still agree?"

"I do, Gai-sensei," Naruto responded without missing a beat as he gave the man another bow. "Shisui-sensei has taught me that nothing is given for free, it comes with hard work and effort. I know I am not very smart, but I shall do everything I have to in order to in order to have the power to protect my friends."

Gai immediately smiled, taking a liking to the boy in an instant. He had always worked his hands to the bone in order to gain what he achieved, and he didn't like others who did it in other ways most of the time. Shisui had praised this boy as a genius, yet he had no problem admitting the fault of his intellect and claiming he made up for it with effort. This boy…yes…he could definitely go far in the way of the Strong Fist.

The spandex-clad man gave his trademark grin and a thumbs up towards the blonde. "Yosh! Naruto, I shall mentor you in the art of my Taijutsu style."

Shisui resisted the urge to smack his face with his hand, instead just settling for a small tick mark over his right eye at how loud the man was being. However, he let it die down when he realized that it would help his blonde student drastically.

"Okay," Shisui stated once he was calm again, "so…here's what we're going to do. We won't start at noon on training days anymore. Instead, I will arrive and transport both of you into this field at 7 in the morning every day except Sunday. We will alternate training days between working solely on your Taijutsu and then working on your other jutsu. As of now, these two will also be helping you along the way."

Naruto and Gaara nodded, knowing all too well that the schedule wasn't really up for debate.

"For now, let me introduce you to your other sensei. Take off the mask buddy." Shisui patted the man's shoulder as he said it, letting everyone know that they were rather good friends at the very least.

The ANBU agent removed his mask, clipping it onto his belt as he revealed his face. Opening his eyes, two Sharingan span in the place of where normal eyes would be, likely for dramatic effect. It was clear that he seemed to be around the same age as Shisui, though maybe a year or two younger.

"Greetings Naruto, Gaara. It is my honor to meet the both of you. My name is Uchiha Itachi. While my mask is off, I would like you to address me as Itachi-sensei. Is that acceptable?"

"Hai, Itachi-sensei," both boys mirrored. They didn't catch the extremely small smirk that crossed Itachi's lips.

'_Shisui was right…teaching for once might be fun.' _

"Alright boys, let's split you up for now. Gaara, you come with Itachi and myself and we'll teach you the basics. Naruto, you go with Gai."

Both boys nodded and walked away with their respective partners, somewhat excited at the prospects of the day.

"Okay Naruto," Gai stated in a somewhat serious tone as they walked a good distance away. "Let us begin…"

* * *

(6 hours later)

Naruto winced, taking another ginger step up the stairs and letting his leg down with a rather resounding _thud_. Gaara was at the top of the stairs, simply smirking down at him.

"Stop laughing!" Naruto said loudly, not having the energy to actually yell.

"I'm not laughing," Gaara responded in a voice that showed he was barely containing all-out laughter. After another long moment, however, he couldn't hold back the laughter as he fell down to a knee and let loose. Not chuckling, not smirking, but full-blown laughter. Gaara had _never_ laughed as much as he had right now. It may have seemed somewhat cruel, but seeing the blonde in such a state was rather amusing to him.

"Yeah, sure, you're not laughing," Naruto grumbled as he moved up to the top stair where the red head was holding his sides in pain and trying to catch his breath.

"I-I-I…hahahaha" Gaara continued as he couldn't help himself. The sound of the intense laugher, of course, brought out Hinata, Anko, and Lee from their apartments. Hearing the particular red head laugh so hard was enough to make anyone come out and see what was so funny.

As they did, everyone immediately clutched their sides as they all fell down in laughter as well. Even Hinata, who would've normally been sympathetic about this sort of thing, had developed enough of a sense of humor from spending time with Anko to begin laughing hysterically. The reason was, quite simply, because of a prank that Shisui pulled on the blonde, or at least the usually-blonde boy. He was rather beat up, which wasn't the amusing part. No, the amusing part was his bright pink and spiky hair. Also, on the front of his black shirt was writing that said "I like to pass out during training like a bitch," also written in pink.

Naruto simply grumbled. Even though he would've found it amusing if done to someone else, it's rarely the case when you're the target of it. He gingerly moved his limbs while nearly dragging his legs towards the door. The reason for that being that Gai had shown _no _mercy when it came to his weights. He had been training at 25 pounds on each limb which wasn't really a problem. However, jumping from 25 on each limb to 90 on each limb…that's a bit of a problem. However, Gai had claimed that he would need to up the amount of muscle substantially to move fast enough and hit hard enough for the style to be effective. Relying on mostly straight-forward attacks, you pretty much had to overwhelm your opponent with speed and strength. During the training, he could barely even move his arms as they did a slow spar, which resulted in his unconsciousness after taking a rather brutal beating. However, he knew he would be better from it in the long run, especially if it continued.

Regardless, it certainly didn't help how hard he was being laughed at for the time being

"Laugh it up, laugh it up," Naruto said in a playful tone towards all of his friends. "I will remember this, and there will be vengeance."

He didn't even bother to close the door to his apartment as he walked in and walked inside, rushing towards the bathroom. He immediately stripped and stood under the shower, a bit frustrated that he wasn't allowed to take off the weight suit even while showering since it was completely water proof. He grumbled as he slowly began to scrub the pink dye out of his hair since it was low quality stuff.

"There will be a reckoning. Maybe not now, maybe no time in the immediate future, but vengeance will be mine."

* * *

(Meanwhile, with Shisui)

The black haired Uchiha had just arrived at his small home within the Uchiha compound and laid down on his cushiony sofa. Suddenly, he felt a mischievous grin crossing his face, along with a familiar sensation that he had not felt in years.

"Someone desires to challenge the prince of pranks…oh_ this_ is going to be _**fun**_." Shisui stated as he started running through ideas already, wondering _just_ how many glitter bombs he should prepare for the occasion. If one were to happen to walk close enough to his home that night, you could easily hear the maniacal cackling resounding ominously through the night sky.

* * *

And Chapter 8 is a go. I took the prince of pranks idea from someone…but I have no idea who it was. A lot of people use that title to begin with, at least in principle, so I don't feel _too_ bad about it. Regardless, sorry if it was your idea and I just kinda snagged it. It's an appropriate secondary moniker, at least in my opinion.

Apologies for the chapter being relatively short, even by my standards, but it didn't really mesh well into the next one. You got 3 chapters in 1 day anyway, so be happy! =p

So yup, Strong Fist. I know that probably isn't what a lot of you were expecting, but trust me, it'll change in time. This won't be his only Taijutsu style, so just be patient for the time being. It's not going to be the same as in **Rise of the Namikaze Clan **either, in case you're read both stories, though it will be somewhat similar. No need to worry about reading the exact same style of physical combat.

Largest time skip thus far and the academy are up next, so be ready for that. That's all I really needed to say, so thanks for reading and I'll see you next chapter.


	9. School Sucks

Disclaimer: I still down own Naruto, still a good thing I don't.

Chapter 9: School Sucks

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(1 year and 3 months later)

(Naruto age: Around 8 for those not keeping track)

Naruto awoke in his bed, mumbling softly that he was up as he draw his arms inward. It was still incredibly odd to him when he felt himself drag a fleshy pillow into himself, and his eyes immediately shot wide open until he realized who it was.

"Morning," the female voice said with a bit of a tired tone.

"Morning Hinata," Naruto mumbled as he ran a hand over his eyes to wake himself up a bit more and stared at the lavender eyes that were looking at his own.

Last week, the two of them had gotten in a bit of an argument when he had returned from a rather intense training day with Gai. She refused to let him sleep on the couch any longer, which was only reinforced by her Anko-like attitude. However, he refused to let her sleep anywhere other than the bed. As a result, he was still getting rather used to waking up next to her every morning. It was a bit strange, true, but nothing he wouldn't get used to with enough time. Besides, the extra warmth was really nice, and it certainly felt a lot better than sleeping on a couch like he had been for nearly the past 2 years. Despite the intimate situation, they were only 8 after all, so there wasn't anything overly odd about it.

Hinata had changed rather drastically over the past year. The shy, timid girl that once existed was no more. While she _did_ still exhibit a small amount of shyness around new people, it was quickly blown through and not exactly detrimental like it was before. Around her friends, however, she was just as open as Anko about her opinions and personality.

The girls had gotten a bit open with their clothing, but it wasn't like they were wearing nothing but mesh and a trench coat or something ridiculous. They both wore a pair of shorts, ending just above their knee. Their shirts hung around their collarbone, and were a mix of black and dark blue color. Anko kept her previous hairstyle at letting it end just at her shoulders, while Hinata decided to grow her own out to match. All things said, aside from the eyes, hair color, and green x on Hinata's forehead that she refused to hide, they pretty much matched.

In comparison, Gaara and Naruto really hadn't changed all that much. They grew a bit taller, and started to put on some real muscle, especially Naruto, but their hair and clothing options stayed pretty much the same. The only significant change was that Naruto wore a pair of finger-less black gloves with a metal plate along the back while Gaara wore the same pair but with full fingers instead.

The blonde and red head had improved drastically over the past year in terms of their training, though they still weren't finished by a long shot. His weights were up to around 150 on each limb, and he was only able to support it thanks to the unknown Kyūbi chakra that helped to regenerate his muscles as quickly as they tore apart. He also made monthly medical visits to ensure that the weights weren't stunting his growth, which they never seemed to be doing. Again, it was thanks to the still unknown Kyūbi chakra running through his system to keep its host in pristine physical condition.

His speed, strength, jutsu repertoire, chakra, and almost every other shinobi aspect imaginable had improved to some degree, as had Gaara's. It was still debatable as to who was better, but Gaara had the upper-hand for the time being thanks to his sand. They were both incredibly skilled in their Taijutsu styles now, but it would still take another year or so of practice to learn all of the advanced forms they needed. After that, it would just be a matter of tuning up the body more and getting combat experience. Soon, they would likely be focusing on working out in the mornings and dedicating themselves mostly to jutsu during the afternoons and evenings.

However, today was not a day that they would be able to get in a great deal of practice. No, today was the day that his age group would be attending their first day of the academy. Along with them, Temari and Kankurō would also be attending, having stayed behind so that they could go as a family with Gaara. The three siblings hadn't seen much of each other since they came to Konoha, but they did get together a few times a year, so it wouldn't be too much of a shock when they met one another again. Regardless of the less-than-ideal housing circumstance keeping them all apart, they still considered themselves siblings after all.

Along with them, a great number of clan heirs were expected to attend. This class would likely provide a great boon to Konoha in the long run, assuming _everyone_ was allowed to attend. It was no secret that there were a great number of people who were likely going to try to bar a number of them from entering. Thankfully, they had gotten permission from the Hokage himself to…remedy the situation if it became necessary. They would be peaceful at first, but would turn forceful in a heartbeat if attacked first.

Knowing all of this, he got up and tossed on the fresh clothes that he had lain out the night before going to bed. He slept in fresh boxers since he was more comfortable that way and Hinata didn't seem to mind, so he had no need to strip. Similarly, she slept in a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, not brash enough to sleep next to a boy in any less than that. The lavender-eyed was a bit more…aware of things than the dense blonde could be, so she wasn't about to sleep in just a pair of panties next to him, despite how comfortable that might be. As such, she had to run to the restroom to change into a fresh pair of clothes and run a brush through her hair a few times.

Naruto's outfit was a simple one. A plain black t-shirt that clearly exposed the weights on his arms when he wore his weight suit along with a pair of black pants than ran down to his ankles. His hair had gotten a bit longer as well, running almost down to his shoulders in the back and his bangs dropping just into his eyesight. His face was now a lot more chiseled than it was previously, almost all traces of baby fat completely gone. Overall, if anyone was actually looking for such a thing, they would find him rather attractive for an 8 year old. Many of his classmates wouldn't turn 8 until a bit later in the year, but it was close enough to let them join anyway. However, it wasn't all that important at the moment.

Thinking for a moment, he decided to keep the weight suit off for the day, thinking that he could just count it as one of his 2 days off from it each week. After all, he wasn't foolish enough to consider not wearing it when he might be getting into some sort of fight in the relatively-near future.

He had warned everyone before-hand of what might happen if they walked together, but they all seemed fine with it. Lee had already gone ahead of them since he was a year before them, content to just get in and get things underway without many issues since he was regarded as normal. Even though he lived near the outcasts, he wasn't really considered one by anyone else. He was only treated poorly by the students of his class, which most people have to deal with anyway at some point.

Naruto then walked into the living room, strapping on his sandals as hopped a few times to test himself without the weights. He usually took them off about twice a week to get used to the sensation of moving and fighting without them on as mentioned before, but it still felt incredibly light compared to usual. He even swung his arms a few times to get used to them as well. He grinned as he felt light as a feather, and tensed his muscles, having a good idea of just how hard he could hit. Regardless of only being 8, most high-Genin to low-Chunin would likely struggle to keep up with his raw speed and strength. The crowd had really better not cause any trouble.

He then rushed over and made a quick breakfast. Hinata usually made it as her cooking was infinitely better, but he thought it was somewhat natural for her to worry about her appearance on the first day of school, so he made it himself. All it ended up being was reheated steamed rice, and some reheated salted salmon to go along with it. Simple, but filling. He laid out a bowl for himself and his sleeping partner before he unceremoniously dug in. Hinata quickly came out of the bathroom and wolfed down her food as well, not really wanting to waste time on food since they were already running a tiny bit late.

"Ready?" Hinata asked as she walked towards the door, looking quite beautiful with her hair straightened. Of course, the blonde was still quite dense about such things, so he paid it no mind.

"Mmhmm," Naruto hummed with a smile towards the girl. He had to leave his kunai and shuriken at the apartment, as he wasn't an official academy student just yet. Because of that, he wasn't legally allowed to have them on his person. After he became an official student of the academy today, however, that would change.

"Then let's go!" Hinata said rather excitedly. She, Anko, Temari, and Kankurō were all incredibly eager to enter the academy. Naruto and Gaara, not so much. Having learned most of the techniques necessary from Shisui and their Taijutsu practice, they really weren't looking forward to having their lesson times cut rather dramatically. However, spending time with friends would be nice.

On the academic side, they weren't interested either. They had been given quite a few books to read over the past few years since Shisui showed them a special jutsu to get through them and memorize them a bit faster, so they likely wouldn't learn much that would be considered important there. It didn't mean they wouldn't enjoy showing off at least a little bit though, even if they were supposed to keep their real skill under check unless physically provoked.

Naruto, however, stopped running over ideas and simply opened the door and stepped outside with Hinata. He made sure to lock the door behind him, knowing that the lavender-eyed girl had a spare key if she needed to get inside as he pocketed his own. At a glance, he saw everyone else from the apartment complex waiting downstairs save Lee. Also there were Kankurō and Temari, who were here to walk with their brother since it was the first day. He and Hinata quickly descended, coming to a stop next to the entire group.

"Ready?" Naruto asked, looking for a general response from everyone. After receiving a positive response, he happily took the lead with his friends behind him. Gaara traveled behind everyone, as they had planned in case anything went wrong. He spotted Shisui clad in his Hawk mask traveling far behind the groups on the roofs, but today was to make a point about this group of individuals. He wouldn't interfere unless absolutely necessary.

As the group of kids walked towards the academy, there were obviously looks of disgust and glares from the villagers directed mostly at the blonde. Despite what they thought, Naruto just kept a neutral expression on his face. He still didn't know why he and Gaara got the glares, though he knew the stories behind why Anko got a few and why they ignored Hinata. It was disgusting that so many villagers would blame people for something completely out of their control, absolutely disgusting. He would change their minds, even if he had to become more powerful than the Hokage himself, he would prove to them that they were respectable people somehow.

The group chatted as they walked towards the academy area, though Naruto and Gaara weren't really paying attention. It was clear that the villagers did _not_ take kindly to them being there, so they were somewhat on alert for anything to happen. As they neared the school, however, it was rather clear what they had planned judging by the large group of people standing there. About 10 relatively new looking Genin along with 2 weak-looking Chunin that seemingly had nothing to do with the academy stood in front, blocking the way. Behind them stood a group of villagers around 20 in number, obviously chosen because they looked somewhat intimidating.

Key word being _looked_.

Naruto turned, stopping his group once they were about 20 feet away, noting the scared look on most of a few faces. Anko and Hinata just looked a bit nervous, obviously not openly displaying fear thanks to the touch exterior attitude they tried to display while in public. Temari and Kankurō looked rather intimidated, not having been used to groups of people against them nor having any proper prior training that wasn't them trying to figure out jutsu written on scrolls by themselves. Gaara, meanwhile, just had a large scowl across his face as he moved forward to step next to the blonde.

"Stay here until we call you forward," Naruto said with authority. "I don't know what they're up to, but it's obviously nothing good."

Gaara nodded, confirming that action to his siblings. "Temari, Kankurō, be on alert and protect these two as best you can should something happen."

His siblings nodded even as they shook slightly, Temari withdrawing her war fan she had received as a gift from her father while Kankurō withdrew the puppet he had received the same year. Despite being rather young themselves, they had some rather rough techniques they could use to defend themselves against Genin or lower. Anything higher than that would likely annihilate any defense they could put up. However, Naruto realized that Hawk would jump in to save them if needed.

Naruto just turned to Gaara, giving his brother-in-arms a curt nod before walking forward with him into the large group of people.

"Hey, look! The demons are all buddy buddy now! Looks like it's just that much easier to kill you now!" A Genin screamed, eliciting a round of laughter from some more bloodthirsty members of the group as he licked along the edge a kunai.

The blonde scowled in response, still not really having an idea of what they were talking about, nor did Gaara. However, they simply stood stoically in front of the group, particularly in front of the two Chunin who looked like they were struggling not to attack to two.

"Move," Naruto commanded plainly. There was no room in his tone for compromise, sympathy, or anything else. It was clear that if this command wasn't obeyed, then he would make them.

"Or what? You'll do something about it?" One of the two Chunin said with a laugh, as his partner chuckled as well. The Genin and civilians behind them joining.

Gaara's cork on his gourd popped off, letting some sand out to swirl around the two boys in a dramatic manner.

"Something like that, yeah," Naruto responded. "Now move, or be moved."

"Now listen here br-!" One of the Chunin said as he lurched forward in a lunging motion as he opened his kunai container on his leg. Wrong move.

The instant his hand switched that container open, it was considered an act of aggression. Hawk had seen it all, and would report as much if needed. Naruto moved immediately, as did Gaara's sand.

The Genin tried to rush forward, but immediately found their lower-bodies covered in sand that had come up from the ground underneath them. They were effectively immobilized before the fight even began. The civilians, while not bound, were clearly too scared from the display to do anything for the moment.

"Move and you never walk again," Gaara said without mercy as he held his hand openly towards the group. Needless to say, most of them damn near pissed themselves in fear of the boy. Having your mind sincerely tell you that he was a demon and then being bound into helplessness by said demon would do that to you. As he ensured they wouldn't be moving, he glanced over to Naruto who he could sense was now coming into range of the Chunin who had lunged at him.

"**Konoha Senpū," **Naruto said as he jumped into the air and spun with only a mild strain to his voice, making it sound…different than when the original user was put in a situation to perform it himself. An act of aggression was considered an attempt on one's life. Killing/crippling blows were looked down upon, but not illegal in any manner. The blonde felt no sympathy as he sent his attacker flying from the kick he smashed into his right temple. At the very least, he would have a concussion from that. The other Chunin reached into his kunai pouch, also a mistake.

The moment Naruto touched the ground, he dashed forward at a speed the Chunin was not expecting from anyone less than a high-Chunin in terms of rank. Before he could even react, he felt a fist smashed into his gut, making him bow over in pain. Having already expected this reaction, Naruto took the back of his head in his hands and shoved it forward, smashing the man's nose into his knee with enough force to shatter it and leave him on the ground screaming as the pain wracked through him. The blonde quickly silenced the man as he walked over and delivered a fierce kick to the side of his head, knocking him unconscious.

"Anyone else?" Naruto asked coldly, even as Gaara's remaining sand around them sparked to life, making the civilians run off immediately. Seeing that most of the spectators were looking at the two boys with gaping maws, it was safe to say that there wasn't anyone else willing to make an attempt.

Just then, Hawk appeared in between the two boys and 10 Genin with a hidden smile under his mask, all too pleased at the boys' display of power. Next time, the civilians would either get too serious to claim they were innocent of anything or they would stop all together. No _respectable_ Jonin would work with civilian trash against another civilian. There were still a few, that's true, but they were incredibly low in number.

"ANBU, arrest them!" A Genin cried desperately as he was still trapped in sand called. It just so happened to be the one who had been leaking a small amount of bloodlust and licking his kunai earlier. "They started a confrontation in public!"

The rest of the Genin immediately nodded their heads, agreeing with the man. They were thinking that they were safe now that the ANBU agent was here.

"Is this true, is that the statement you'll all give?" Hawk asked, looking with disgust at the group of Genin in front of him as they all nodded and voiced as much. There was even an Uchiha in their ranks. One of _his_ blood who was simply agreeing with every other Genin present.

"Very well," Hawk stated as he glared at the Uchiha among the group from behind his mask. "_All_ of you are hereby under arrest for falsifying an official statement as a shinobi of Konoha. Suffice it to say, it's safe to say unless you have some **deep **connections, your careers are gone."

Several of the group hung their heads down, realizing they had been caught immediately. A few however, the Uchiha among them, continuously proclaimed their innocence. Hawk immediately marched up to the man wearing the Uchiha clan crest and pulled him free of the sand, making him look directly into the holes of his mask as he activated his Sharingan. Upon seeing his eyes, the Uchiha immediately stiffened, realizing his error.

"Are _you_ going to tell _me_ that I didn't see what I know I saw _**boy?**_" Shisui spat behind his mask, making the Uchiha boy squirm a bit. The kid was his own age, but it was well known that only 2 Uchiha were within ANBU. He knew he was either looking at Shisui or Itachi, and he wasn't about to offend whichever it was any further.

"N-N-No sir," the boy responded quickly.

"That's what I thought," Shisui stated with disgust as he tossed the boy back into the pile of sand on the ground, which instantly rooted him to the spot once more. "Put them in one ball Gaara, the knocked out ones as well."

No words being spoken, Gaara immediately brought the two unconscious Chunin over to the group with some of his remaining sand and then meshed them into 1 giant ball of sand with only their faces exposed so they could still breath. As he did this, he had a good portion of his remaining sand grinding underground already, knowing he was going to lose what he had put into the orb.

"Thank you for your assistance," Shisui said behind his mask, trying to remain as official as possible. He then put his hand on the orb of sand and immediately flickered out of existence, likely immediately into the Hokage tower since it wasn't far away. After they left, a large portion of sand came out from underground and refilled his gourd. He would have to infuse it with his chakra so it would move faster, but that wouldn't take too terribly long.

The two boys then turned around and looked at the other members of the group who were looking at them in stunned silence. Hinata and Anko, in particular, had a mild blush going on as they began to see the muscles outline of Naruto's muscles on his shirt as if it were the first time. Everyone knew that had been training, they hadn't kept that much a secret, but no one knew how far along they were. It was safe to say that they were…advanced…at the very least.

"Well come on!" Naruto shouted as he beckoned them over. "Let's get moving or we're going to be late for school."

Seeing the group freeze up upon him acting like his usual self, he had to let out a small sigh even as Gaara sent him a somewhat understanding look as he knew he would end up being talked to quite a bit by his brother and sister. The two unknowing jinchūriki moved behind the group, shoving 2 people each towards the academy each.

"Come on, let's go or I'll carry you girls," Naruto said with a smile towards Hinata and Anko. This seemingly caused them to finally break out of their dazed state, and they simply nodded as they moved forward after a lingering moment. Gaara had similar success as his siblings put their weapons of choice away and moved forward into the academy gate.

"It's going to be a long day," Naruto whispered to Gaara as they lingered in the back a while as the 4 others moved forward.

"Yes it is Naruto," Gaara said after a small chuckle. "Yes it is."

* * *

Sure enough, they were right. It wasn't even half an hour later when the whispers in the grounds started about the two boys and the group they were with. The demons and their lackeys, as they were called by kids who overheard their parents using the phrase. It didn't really matter to the two boys, but they would be damned if they let it affect those their friends. However, at the moment, there really wasn't anything they could do about it. The classes were quickly separated, and those who remained in the class with the group were quickly whispered to by their parents to stay away from select individuals. Again, there really wasn't anything they could do about that, at least not at the moment. The ones who were told to bully them, however, those they could do something about relatively soon if they tried to start something.

After the classes were separated, the group was quickly guided to room 301, where they would stay for the entire duration of their academic career. Moving into their own choice of seating, Naruto found himself sandwiched between Hinata and Anko while Gaara had the same thing going with his siblings. Naruto and gang sat at the very back desk while Gaara's group sat just in front of them. They quickly met their instructor and his assistant. Umino Iruka and a man named Mizuki, respectively. It was clear right from the start that Iruka had a rather obvious resentment of Naruto, though it thankfully only seemed to be him. Mizuki, on the other hand, glared at Naruto, Gaara, and Anko. That was something the blonde was **not** pleased about.

"Let's…do roll call," Iruka announced as he openly glared at the blonde, much to the disdain of pretty much everyone around the blue-eyed boy. However, the blonde just shrugged and gave a mental sigh.

'_Just like I thought, school sucks.' _Naruto thought as he slumped a bit in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. _'Oh well, at least I have my friends to get through it.'_

* * *

And finish! Hope you enjoyed.

So, to begin with, I feel that Hinata/Naruto sleeping in the same bed when they're 8 is a genuinely innocent act, at least for the moment. I dunno what you were all like when you were 8, but I'm fairly certain I still thought girls had cooties and such. These 2 are a bit smarter than that, but they're not about to start making out at this point either.

In regards to how the villagers treat them all, it's a bit rough to describe my exact thoughts. Primarily, their hate is on Naruto for obvious reasons. The Kyūbi fucked with a lot of people, messed up a lot of lives, and brings up a lot of bad memories as well. He's going to have obvious issues. Gaara, while not hated because of anything his demon did, is still hated because they familiarize it with the fox. He doesn't get as much grief, but he still gets a lot of it.

Anko gets a bit as well because of Orochimaru's betrayal. As I said though within one of the chapters though, people can empathize a lot easier to someone who had a shitty father than someone who has a mass of chakra infused with a consciousness sealed within their belly. So she gets minimal grief compared to the other 2. Hinata, unlike the previous 3, is just ignored for the most part. That'll likely change at some point throughout the story, but it's true for the time being. Temari and Kankurō are pretty much treated like royalty regardless of who they chum around with. Being adopted by the Nara/Aburame as well as being descendants of the current Kazekage kind of ensure that.

Lastly, we have the fight in front of the academy. So, basically, Gaara put his sand underground and had it come up and trap the Genin. They're typical Genin, so they aren't going to sense that, nor do I imagine a good number of them know any technique to get them out of it. Regardless, if Gaara would've seen them making hand seals, he could've just crushed their legs. Seeing so many Genin get trapped immediately, the civilians kinda froze up, as I imagine most would.

The Chunin were caught off-guard by Naruto's sheer speed. When you train under Shisui, you get fast or you don't get trained, pure and simply in my opinion. The guy was known for the Body Flicker in Canon, so he's obviously going to really stress high speed. He probably would've won outright eventually even if they hadn't been caught off-guard, but it certainly made things easier the way they turned out.

I still enjoy getting all the follows/favorites for my stories and as a writer, so thank you to everyone who has done that. I try to respond individually to each review, so don't be shy in letting me know what you think so long as you keep the critique portions constructive.

Thanks for reading, and see you all next chapter!


	10. A Bloody Trial

Disclaimer: I still down own Naruto, still a good thing I don't.

Chapter 10: A Bloody Trial

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**Fair Warning: ****If you're a tad squeamish or an avid animal rights supporter, you may want to consider skipping this chapter. I will provide a brief summary at the bottom in bolded text so you get a rough idea at what happened.**

* * *

(5 days later)

The blonde boy's eye twitched in annoyance as he was sitting in front of his Uchiha instructors alongside Gaara. The last 5 days had, quite possibly, been some of the most testing in his life. Despite the students not openly glaring at him like many of the villagers did, it didn't stop them from gossiping about him behind his back, nor did it stop the "fan club" that had apparently taken up a banner to declare him the cutest boy at the school.

He wasn't along in that last part, at least. It was currently somewhat of a 3-way tie between himself, Gaara, and Itachi's younger brother named Sasuke. The blonde and red head wanted nothing to do with it, but little Sasuke seemed to enjoy it a bit, even if he didn't respond to them very often.

Itachi had actually been somewhat glad to hear that Sasuke would be in a class with the two of them, but his excitement for that quickly dropped dramatically. Despite his best attempts, his younger brother clung to the typical Uchiha arrogance as did most of the rest of them. Needless to say, Gaara and Naruto didn't get along with him as a result.

However, for the time being, it wasn't of consequence. He would continue trying to change his brother even as he continued to help along the two boys in front of him in their training.

Speaking of training, today would be a trial for them, and quite possibly one of the more traumatizing experiences they would ever have to experience. The…uniqueness of their situation had given the two older Uchiha a bit of a thought. Even though such an exercise was usually reserved for young ANBU prodigies, it was clear that they would need to go through it themselves. Thus, we see the two cages near Shisui's feet who was standing to Itachi's left.

"Alright boys," Shisui stated in an uncharacteristically firm tone. "Each of you come and take one of these cages."

The unknowing jinchūriki did just that, and took one cage each. Bringing it up to their eyes, they couldn't help but smile at what they saw. Inside each individual cage were grey bunnies, around 2 months old if one had to guess.

"Naruto, go to the left, Gaara go out a bit to the right. Get out of view of one another," Shisui commanded with now-closed eyes. He _hated_ having to force them to do this, but they needed it. He still remembered his experience, and the countless amount of nightmares about it afterwards. He felt dirty, corrupted, and almost evil for basically forcing children to do this.

However, his thoughts about it came to a halt as he felt Itachi pat his right shoulder. He glanced over to the man he considered his brother, and got a knowing look from him before he nodded. The prodigy of the Uchiha clan then wordlessly walked off to seek out Gaara who had moved a good distance away.

Meanwhile, Shisui looked over to Naruto who had taken the bunny out of the cage and was playing with it, just as he had done during his experience with this. He could only offer a silent prayer for the blonde, as he knew playing with the creature would only make what was to come that much more difficult. The black-haired Uchiha walked over to the blonde and popped open his kunai pouch coldly, taking out a single utensil and tossing it in front of him.

The blonde looked towards the kunai as it made a soft _thump_ even as he held the bunny in his lap. His heart clenched in horror at the implication. He may not have been the sharpest individual before, but having to read material that Shisui and Itachi had pushed him towards had given a major boost to his intellect. He was smart enough now to know exactly what this was supposed to be, though he hadn't even realized it until the kunai struck.

"I assume you know what this is now?" Shisui asked, still managing to contain the gut-wrenching emotions he was feeling as he spoke. Seeing the blonde's eyes widen and seeing the spark that was in them die a little bit, he had his answer.

"5 minutes," The Sharingan wielder stated before he Body Flickered away far enough to not be seen, but close enough to watch over the situation.

Naruto, meanwhile, was resisting the urge to wretch already.

'_I should have seen this coming. The books regarding trials, first kills, how to cope…I'm such an idiot…' _the blonde thought as he looked down to the innocent creature that was on his lap. He felt it nuzzle against his arm, almost as if it wanted pet.

Naruto gently picked the bunny up, hoping desperately that it was a Genjutsu or some illusion trick that would conceal the reality that they were using an older bunny to try and trick them. However, he had no such luck. It was a bunny, a life that was already past being an infant and heading into being in its prime. Innocence, a creature that had done nothing wrong in its entire life.

He could spot the underlying idea, and he knew deep down that it was a good one. A shinobi would have to perform missions, at times, against those who had done no wrong. They would have to _harm_ and possibly _kill_ those who had done nothing wrong except be at the wrong place at the wrong time, just as this bunny had.

He gently set the creature on the ground, not letting it see him as he wordlessly picked up the kunai and turned the creature away from him. He felt a guilt clutch his heart already even as hot tears poured out from his eyes. His hands shook slightly as he gripped the kunai a bit more fiercely, trying to work up his resolve to do this. Knowing that his shaking was likely disturbing the creature that was underneath his left palm, he bent his hand a bit and gave the fuzzy thing a scratch along its neck, secretly leaving some of its fur up to see where his strike needed to be a bit easier.

The blonde bit back a sob as he took a few deep breaths, still leaking hot tears from his eyes as he grunted and dashed his right hand forward. To his dismay, however, the poor creature began to screech. He quickly looked down and saw that, because he had looked away at a crucial moment, the bunny had turned slightly and made him miss the vital point on its neck. Instead, the poor thing began to bleed profusely and was obviously in a great deal of pain even as spurts of blood shot out of it's neck at a sickening velocity.

Naruto quickly lurched his hand back and brought it down again fiercely, not daring to take his eyes off of the innocent creature he had put in pain again. He watched as his kunai buried itself where its heart would be, piercing it cleanly this time. With a great deal of exerted effort to keep himself from being sick, he even watched as last breath left the bunny, signaling its death.

The blonde then quickly shoved himself backwards several feet by repeated kicks of his feet, his entire body wracking in silent sobs. He managed to pull himself to his feet before he promptly turned to his side and wretched, finally unable to control himself any further. The guilt…the sheer gut-wrenching and heart-tearing guilt felt as if it were overwhelming his entire being. Looking down and _feeling_ the warm blood still on his exposed fingertips and his pant legs, he wretched again.

After a few minutes of this, he finally took in a few deep breaths, which was enough to calm his system down to not puke any more. It certainly didn't help with the guilt he was feeling, but he felt better after having that all out. He ran the backs of his gloves over his eyes, wiping away the tear trails from his now-puffy orbs. Luckily, no blood had gotten on those parts, so there was no blood on his face from it.

He slowly turned around, seeing the dead bunny in front of him again. He felt renewed guilt rise up, but he didn't let it cripple him this time. Instead, he wordlessly moved next to the bunny and wordlessly dug. He dug until he was about 3 feet down in a small rectangle before he carefully picked up the corpse and lowered it inside of the hole. After that, he shoved the dirt that was on the side into the hole, effectively giving it a small burial site. No cross, no marking, but a burial site nonetheless.

He felt a hand clap onto his shoulder, which he immediately snapped his neck towards since he hadn't actually sensed anyone come into the immediate area because he was off-guard. He relaxed somewhat, however, when he saw Shisui standing there.

"You okay?" The Uchiha asked, knowing full well what the answer was.

"…I'll manage," Naruto said after a long moment through the hefty lump in his throat.

Shisui simply waited for a few minutes, not sure what else to say on the issue. He had never been helped through it in any sort of manner, as it was ANBU protocol to not interfere. However, he was also a bit older when he had done it. He could only hope that doing this so early would not hurt either of the boys in the long-term.

"Come on," he stated as he patted the blonde on the shoulder again. "I know something that will help a little bit, and you and Gaara can help one another."

Naruto wordlessly nodded, not really thinking that anything in the world could actually help make how he felt diminish in some sort of way.

They walked a small distance until they came to a rock in the clearing, where Itachi and Shisui had designated to meet before they did this. Walking around to the other side of it, Itachi was already sitting next to it with a pale-looking Gaara.

Naruto immediately took in the look of who he viewed as his own brother and knew he had been forced to do the same thing. His fully-fingered gloves were stained with blood, and his gourd was off to the side. Judging by some of the blood that was spattered on his face, his hadn't been a clean kill either, **and** it looked like he had been forced to take off his sand armor before-hand.

Without speaking a word, the blonde sat down next to the red head, staring almost blankly ahead of him. He closed his eyes, holding back the tears he felt trying to squeeze their way out again when his brain forced him to think back to the scene of the bunny screeching in pain. Every single moment of it seemed imbedded in him, and he couldn't shake the pained feeling in his chest away.

Before he could think anymore, however, he heard a soft thump in front of the two of them. Opening his eyes, he saw a bottle with the kanji for alcohol written on it. He glanced upwards, and saw Shisui and Itachi each had 2 small saucers. They each filled one about halfway with the bottle as they sat down, before they gave them to each of the boys.

"But…we're not-" Naruto began to say.

"Old enough to kill, old enough to drink," Shisui said, cutting him off as he filled his own saucer. "It tastes like shit, but it helps to dull the sharper images you're seeing a little bit."

Glancing to Itachi, he got a nod in confirmation. He then glanced over to Gaara who shot his down his throat, coughing a bit after he did.

"Sip it," Itachi said as he did just that to his own saucer of the alcohol.

Naruto, following his advice, did as he said. He couldn't keep his face from scrunching at the taste.

"Told you, tastes like shit," Shisui said with a brief smile as he poured Gaara another saucer of the stuff since he held his cup out. "I hope you both know why we made you do this."

Naruto nodded, albeit sadly, and Gaara did the same though he didn't see it occur. The invisible weight on the elder Uchiha's shoulders relaxed slightly, though he still felt incredibly guilty about the whole ordeal.

"Itachi and I…had to do the same thing," Shisui said as he brought up memories he would've been happy to have forgotten. "As an ANBU, this is what they make you do before you even begin to get into the heavy training." He sipped on a saucer of the stuff, quickly draining it as he spoke.

"My own kill…wasn't pretty," he admitted. "I took the little guy out of the cage and played with it, even gave him some stupid nickname before they told me what I was supposed to do…" He looked down to the two boys in front of him, seeing their gaze somewhat drift out, as if they were reliving the memories of their own kills again.

"As much as it hurts to look back on those you know are innocent, and as much as a monster you might feel like right now," he continued, "it's important that you never forget." He reached out and took the bottle, filling his saucer once more before he continued even as Itachi did the same with his.

"It's when you can kill things like the bunny and especially innocent humans without feeling guilty that you become a real monster," Itachi chimed in. "Do not forget the innocent, but do not let them debilitate you either. I would advise you find an outlet of some sort to help you cope."

Shisui nodded, knowing that it was a good idea himself.

"Like what?" Gaara asked in a still-emotionless tone. "What could possibly get my mind off of this?"

"Well, when you're older, a girlfriend is a good start." Shisui grinned as he hoped to get through to the boy, and seeing the roll of the eyes Gaara gave him, he knew that he had at least slightly. "However, for the time being, a hobby is a good thing to look into."

"What do you two do?" Naruto asked, looking at each of them.

"Ah, mine is what I recommended before," Shisui stated with a smile as he thought of the woman he was quickly falling in love with. "Before that though, pranking people, thus earning the self-awarded Pranking Prince of Konoha title."

Naruto gave a ghost of a smile before he held out his saucer, getting a quick refill from the Uchiha in front of him.

"I am the same way," Itachi said with a brief smile of his own. "However, I also tend to Bonsai trees in my spare time."

"That…sounds really boring," Naruto admitted as he felt a heat begin to rise across the bridge of his nose, touching each cheek. Glancing over to Gaara who was in the middle of a refilled saucer of his own, he saw a blush touching that exact spot on him as well. _'Must be the alcohol,' _the blonde thought after he spoke his mind.

"Yes, well," Itachi said as he took a drink. "The important thing is that it's not boring to you. What everyone else things doesn't matter too much. If you don't like gardening of any sort, you could always try cooking or maybe an instrument."

The latter idea clicked in Naruto's mind, while the former in Gaara's. Seeing their heads give a small jerk of a motion, Itachi knew he had likely captivated them with the idea at the very least.

"Cooking is a good one," Shisui stated on the side. "The ladies always love a good cook, though that goes the other way around too."

"Would that be why you're dating the daughter of a ramen chef?" Itachi asked as he gave a rare chuckle.

"Not just that man!" Shisui said defensively. "She can cook, she's beautiful, she's nice, and did I mention she could cook?"

"I think you did, yes," Itachi said as he sipped his saucer of sake again.

"Bah, you leave her alone!" Shisui said with a bit of a grin. "What about you? Getting one of the Ice Queens is pretty impressive buddy." He leaned over and nudged Itachi in the ribs with his shoulder a few times, obviously teasing the man.

Itachi, in response, kept sipping at his saucer. However, a deep blush popped up along the bridge of his nose that had nothing to do with the effects of the alcohol just yet. As he finished the saucer and smacked his lips together, he glanced towards Shisui as a smile crossed his lips again.

"Just jealous because you couldn't get Yugao for yourself, eh Shisui?" He asked in a mocking manner.

"Please, Ayame-chan is obviously much more beautiful," the elder Uchiha claimed as he waved off the comment Itachi threw at him.

"Uh huh, sure she is," Itachi said in a rare moment of teasing banter. "You keep telling yourself that."

"Oi!" Shisui exclaimed before they both broke into laughs, Naruto and Gaara following soon after at finding genuine amusement in their sensei's actions.

"And what are you laughing at Blondie?" Shisui asked teasingly. "Knowing you, you'll probably end up being a killer with the ladies, just like I hear your dad wa-"

'_Fuck' _Shisui thought as he saw Itachi's neck snap towards him, as well as the blonde's eyes grow steeled onto him.

"Well shit…" Shisui stated with a sigh. "I wasn't supposed to say that."

"You…you know who my dad was?" Naruto asked, with obviously pleading eyes.

The elder Uchiha tossed his saucer down next to the bottle of now-half-empty Sake, and brought out a scroll, unsealing another bottle before he put the scroll away. He gave a glance to Itachi, who upon getting the message, filled up his saucer again.

"Look," Shisui began. "I love you both like the little brothers I never had, alright? You're both incredibly powerful for your age, and you've just gone through an experience that would completely break most kids your age."

Naruto started get fume a bit, but calmed down once he heard the man's next words.

"So because of that, if you promise to not tell a soul until Hokage-sama says otherwise, I will tell you both something you deserve to know. You're both smart enough by now to know what happens if big information gets out."

Both boys immediately nodded, especially Gaara who was not intrigued as to what Shisui could tell him about himself.

"Let's start with the one that affects you both then…" The Uchiha man stated as he glanced to Itachi and got a weary nod as the younger man poured himself a fresh drink upon downing the previous one in a single shot.

"What do you two know about the Biju?"

* * *

**Overview**: **Naruto and Gaara were forced to kill 2 relatively young bunnies in order to instill the fact that they would have to kill innocent people in the long-term as a ninja at some point. It also got most of the shock and guilt out of the way for their first kill so they wouldn't freeze up in the field. **

**After that, the 2 boys were comforted by Itachi and Shisui while they had their first drink with the group. Shisui and Itachi recommended hobbies to keep their minds off of things, reminded them to never forget any innocents they were forced to take the life of, and joked around afterwards to get them to cheer up. Itachi / Shisui parings were revealed as Yugao/Ayame respectively. **

**Near the end of the chapter, Shisui let slip that he knew Naruto's father albeit it is not confirmed whether it is directly or indirectly. Naruto pounced upon it, desperate to know. Shisui, after taking out more alcohol for the long conversation, then agreed to tell them the bigger secrets that revolved around the 2 boys, finishing with asking them what they knew about the Biju.**

* * *

And done, hope you enjoyed.

It was actually surprisingly difficult for me to write about the bunny being killed, which was why I didn't detail Gaara's to the same degree. You can just imagine that it went mostly the same way, as Gaara was still innocent other than protecting himself from a few attacks before he came to Konoha.

It was actually rather amusing to write the drinking scene afterwards, which I thought was a bit odd as I had no idea where I was going to go with it when I originally thought of the idea. Regardless, I think it went rather well. Itachi and Shisui obviously have a high opinion of the boys for not flipping shit after something like that. Regardless of it being a lot of emotional turmoil all at once, they would likely feel like they deserved to know by then, especially about Naruto's parents.

Still enjoying and thankful for all the follows/favs/reviews you guys give me. Thanks so much for everything. See you all in the next chapter.


	11. Revelations

Disclaimer: I still down own Naruto, still a good thing I don't.

Chapter 11: Revelations

* * *

Gaara and Naruto's heads both cocked to the side immediately after the question was asked, resulting in Shisui almost laughing hysterical at how similar they reacted when confused.

"Okay, well that answers that question," the elder Uchiha said as he picked up his refilled saucer. He swirled it around slightly, considering how best to phrase it.

"Alright," he continued after a few moments of thought, "you both know of the Kyūbi attack from the few history books Itachi and I made you read right?"

Both boys nodded, having at least known that much. History hadn't been a major subject with them, as other objects took precedence, but they did have to know it at least to a certain extent.

"Alright, the Kyūbi is a Bijū, specifically 1 of 9 Bijū. There's a theory that the number of tails represents the amount of power it has, but there's no way to confirm that at the moment. Still with me so far?"

Both boys nodded again, having easily followed along with his general explanation.

"Okay," he stated as he sipped from his saucer. "The Bijū themselves are a bit odd and rather difficult to explain. They're not…normal…in a sense like most creatures are. Normal creatures start with a physical body and have a chakra network within it, kind of like the way our network of blood vessels."

"The Biju however," Shisui continued, "do not work this way. Instead of starting with a physical body and merely having a chakra network within it, they are a being of pure chakra that has been given a consciousness, or so we think anyway."

As expected, Gaara nodded after thinking critically about it for a moment, seemingly understanding. The far denser blonde, on the other hand, cocked his head to the side again. He never really was skilled with critical thinking skills, but they would fix that.

"Just…think of it as the Biju are actually _made_ of chakra that has a will of its own," Shisui said towards the blonde, getting him to nod. Apparently he could at least understand that much. He then shot back his entire saucer, laying it down for Itachi to refill once more. He'd like to at least be close to being somewhat buzzed after he dropped the bombshell on the two boys in front of him.

"Okay," he said with a sigh as he tilted his head back and thought for the appropriate words once again. "So knowing what I've just told you, and specifically thinking back to the details that are given in the reports about the attack on the village by the Kyūbi, what details don't match up?"

As expected, the red head's eyes were the first one to widen in realization.

"Everyone says that the Yondaime Hokage killed the fox," Gaara said with a scrunched brow after a few moments of thought. "However, you said that it was _made_ of chakra, right?"

Shisui nodded with a small smile as he picked up his saucer again. Gaara's mind would be a force to be reckoned with one day if he was already this intelligent.

"Then how did he actually kill it?" The red head asked as he scratched his head in thought. "I mean, from what I've read, chakra can only be used or st-"

It was then that Gaara cut himself off, seemingly for no reason, as he glanced over at the blonde. Despite still being relatively young, the boy could likely be considered a genius later in the future.

'_So the Kyūbi couldn't actually be __**killed**__, just stored away if I had to take a guess. A lot of people whisper demons when he and I are around, but specifically I remember a few times when he was called the fox brat.' _The ex-resident of Suna's mind raced a mile a minute as he began putting it all together, even as Shisui and Itachi smiled sadly, knowing he would be able to put things together himself if they forced them to.

"Seems Gaara has the idea," Shisui said as the red head's eyes snapped to him, clearly being brought out of his thoughts.

"Well, I'm still confused," Naruto admitted with a bit of a pout and scrunched up face.

"Let me ask another question then," Shisui said as he continued to sip on his saucer of alcohol. "When's your birthday again?"

"October 10th," Naruto responded.

"Right," Shisui said before he took another sip. "When was the Kyūbi attack?"

"October 10th," the blonde replied again. "The exact day I was…" He cut himself off, finally getting the hint. Thankfully, despite his less-than-ideal critical thinking skills, forcing him to read had at least made him a bit more intelligent than he likely would've been at this age.

"Seeing as you two are finally at least thinking around the right lines," Itachi spoke up, making his presence known. "I think it is best we just come out and tell you." He then looked up to his best friend, who simply gave a sigh.

"Alright, just stay calm about this until we can properly explain it to you. If you start freaking out and shouting, I'll knock your ass out until you calm down." Shisui put his saucer down, knowing he wasn't going to have time for sipping the stuff for at least the next few minutes.

Both of the young boys nodded, still having their thoughts race a mile a minute in terms of what was going on.

"You both contain a demon in your guts," Shisui said bluntly. "Naruto, you possess the Kyūbi. Gaara, you possess the Ichibi. You are what people apparently refer to as Jinchūriki."

The Uchiha men were forced to watch as the eyes of both younger boys widened in shock, before they finally registered the truth. The realization of why they were treated so badly, especially Naruto, was shown on the painful expressions that crossed their faces.

"That…that's why…?" Naruto asked, almost hoping it wasn't true.

"Yeah," Shisui answered the unasked question. "That's why."

The group sat in silence for a few moments after that, letting the boys accept the revelation. Gaara seemed to take it surprisingly well, merely breathing slightly heavier. However, he closed his eyes and simply focused on his breath to calm himself down.

Naruto, on the other hand, was visibly shaking. He was clenching his fists hard enough for his fingers to dig into the material his gloves were composed of slightly, though he didn't tear all the way through. He had always told himself to merely ignore the villagers for what they did to him, but knowing that it was something he could _not_ control in the least was absolutely infuriating. The fact that it had been something the village _hero_ had done, no less, made him only more frustrated.

However, deep down, he also understood. Despite his rough upbringing thus far, empathizing with others had always been something that came natural to him, willingly or not. Despite feeling outraged that he was treated so poorly, he understood why people treated him so poorly. They needed an outlet for what had happened, and he was the best possible option.

The rage, the depression, and even the outright hopelessness of the situation would've been too much for most people to handle. Shinobi, civilians, and even children had lost entire families in the blink of an eye in the Kyūbi attack, and it was regarded as the village's worst disaster thus far. Simply crying and talking about something like that probably wouldn't be enough to help people get through the day.

Slowly, but surely, his shaking stopped and he regulated his breathing just like Gaara had. He was still outraged, but the villagers weren't particularly the ones to focus on. They deserved a good portion of his anger, that much was certainly true. However, the Kyūbi was the one who had caused it all, not them.

"You going to be okay, Naruto?" Shisui asked, watching the boy intently.

The blonde in question just took a deep breath and let out a loud sigh.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he said truthfully. "I'm rather pissed off, but I'll be fine."

Everyone in the area nodded. Itachi and Shisui at least recognizing that he had every single right to be angry, and Gaara simply because he felt the exact same way even if he didn't show it.

A few moments of silence occurred afterwards where Naruto poured himself a fresh saucer of sake from the first bottle, feeling that it was now only about ¼ full. Thankfully Shisui had brought the other bottle, because this stuff was starting to taste good to him, and he could definitely use more of the fuzzy feeling he got as he drank it.

"You said that we are referred to as Jinchūriki?" Gaara asked, getting back to what Shisui had said a bit ago. "So there are more people like us?"

"I believe so," Shisui answered sincerely. "Personally, I've never had any interaction with any other than you two. However, from what little I know about the subject, I think it would be safe to guess that the other 7 bijū are likely sealed inside someone out in the world."

"Are…are they treated as badly as we are?" Naruto asked, somewhat curious to the answer. A part of him wanted them to be free of the pain he was put through, but another part of him felt jealous that they might have gotten away from it all.

"I don't know," Shisui admitted. "Countries usually keep information like that under tight lock and key."

The blonde and red head nodded, somewhat understanding. However, Naruto's head perked back up upon remembering something.

"Hey, you still haven't told me who my dad was!"

"I was getting to it," Shisui said with a small grin as the blonde returned to his usual mindset. "There was a reason I brought up the entire bijū thing other than just telling you two something that you deserved to know. Now, do you want Gaara to find out with you or would you rather find out alone?"

The blonde glanced over to the boy beside him, who honestly looked to be okay with either decision he would make. Naruto just smiled in response.

"Gaara's my brother as far as I'm concerned, now more than ever. He can stay and find out with me."

Said red head just smiled, giving a slight nod to acknowledge that he felt the same way. In a way, a part of him would always be connected to Naruto more intensely than any blood could relate two individuals. Shisui and Itachi both had small smiles across their faces as well, glad that the two of them at least had one another to fall back on.

"Okay," Shisui stated as he took in a deep breath. "S-class secret again, so no blabbering about this to anyone. No, not to Anko, Hinata, or Lee either."

Naruto just nodded, getting that it was supposed to be incredibly well-kept.

"You're the son of the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato," Shisui stated.

Naruto's reaction did not disappoint. He had always viewed the Yondaime as a goal, at least to an extent. Hearing that he was his son…well…you imagine finding out that you're the son of your favorite hero and picture what your own reaction would be like.

At first, his jaw dropped dramatically, which was amusing in and of itself. Afterwards, seemingly attempting to make an attempt at coherent speech, it flapped up and down almost like a fish for a few moment. After finally managing to keep his mouth closed, he settled for just having a huge grin across his face before it slowly died down.

"So…he…that's why he chose me?" Naruto asked, somewhat curious.

"That's my guess," Shisui admitted. "I was under his command in ANBU only for a few weeks before it all happened. From what I gathered, he was a very selfless man, and you wouldn't believe how much he loved to talk about how he was going to be the best father in the world. My guess is that he wouldn't make anyone else put such a burden on their own kid."

The blonde's head just hung down slightly, but nodded even as a brief smile crossed his face. A few tears attempted to well into his eyes, but he blinked them away before they could drip down his face. Truthfully, from the sound of it, he couldn't have really asked for a better father figure. If nothing else, at least now he knew where his ability to somewhat forgive the villagers came from.

"What about my mom?" Naruto asked, somewhat greedy for more information.

"I can answer that," Itachi said before Shisui could speak. Itachi hadn't had much interaction with the woman, but it was undoubtedly more than Shisui had.

"Your mother," Itachi began, "was Uzumaki Kushina. She was a very kind woman, and liked to be on competitive terms with my own mother, kind of like rivals in a way. She often was very hard-headed, outspoken, loved ramen, and was _very_ protective of things she viewed as precious in her life."

"Like your father," the Uchiha continued with a sad smile, "she often talked about how she was going to be the best mother in the world for you."

(No, neither of them knew about the Jinchūriki part of Kushina. That was a secret that was kept from even most ANBU agents.)

"I see," Naruto said with a sad smile after it was clear that Itachi had nothing else to really detail to him.

"It's important that you know that they loved you very much, Naruto," Shisui said softly. "They wouldn't have burdened you with this unless there was absolutely no other option."

The blonde nodded his head sadly in acceptance, gathering that his parents would have at least looked for any alternative before placing the Kyūbi within him.

"Whenever Hokage-sama deems fit to tell you," Shisui continued, "you'll have to act like you're still surprised by the entire thing. Alright?"

"Any idea when that will be?" Naruto asked, somewhat curious.

"My guess would be whenever you get promoted to a Chunin or when you turn 16," Shisui answered. "That's usually when inheritances are allowed."

"Okay," Naruto said in a now-shaky voice. "I'll just have to work hard to become a Chunin then."

"I have no doubt that you'll get it shortly after you graduate," the elder Uchiha said with a smile even as his companion nodded at his side in agreement. "For now though, we still have another entire sake bottle to go through."

All 4 empty saucers were then refilled with the last of the first bottle, leaving just the fresh one afterwards.

"To the future," Shisui said as he held up his saucer in a pseudo-toast of sorts. Itachi followed suit while Gaara and Naruto just held them up to go along with the other two.

As they sipped the saucers immediately afterwards, the elder Uchiha couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen as he watched the sun begin its descent into the horizon.

* * *

(In a section of the forest outside of the village)

"This is beneath me," a man with black, shoulder-length hair stated as he slowly stood up from where he had been kneeling. He stood at a solid 6 feet tall, and wore standard-issue Jonin gear from Konoha. He was not well known, nor was he particular well liked. In fact, many would classify this man, known simply as Jin, as being the definition of an average Jonin.

While that certainly _was_ true for the man's life before now, it was anything but the case now.

"You are the definition of scum of the Earth," came a voice from seemingly nowhere. After a lingering moment, a swirl in the air became visible to the naked eye as a man slowly grew into existence from within it, stopping only once he was fully formed.

"Nothing is really _beneath_ you," finished the man. He was wearing a plain black robe that dropped down to his ankles. The only iconic or recognizable feature about the man aside from his robe and gloves was the orange spiral-like mask he wore to hide his identity.

"Kukuku," Jin replied in a creepy laugh as his eyes briefly flashed a shade of unnatural yellow. "Now, now, _Tobi_. No need to become so offended."

The man behind the mask had to stop himself from almost gagging with disgust after watching the man's twisted ritual. He detested having to go to such lengths, but he would do it to achieve his goal in the long run. He was no one, he should have nothing that utterly disgusts him. He would ensure his plan succeeded.

"Just get the information, _Jin_," the masked man stated in a mocking tone that matched the one the man had just used towards him.

"I shall," Jin said ominously as he shifted through the thoughts of the man he had taken over, running across several that genuinely peaked his interest. "He lives in the upper-district of the village, close to the Hokage tower. If you need to contact me, look in that area."

The man who had been labeled as Tobi simply nodded, imbedding that particular piece of information into his memory.

"Very well," he stated plainly. "I'll be checking in a few times each year. I expect you to find something."

Jin simply nodded with a knowing smirk on his face, having already expected that. He did not take to being ordered around by many people, but the man in front of him was one that he acknowledged as superior to him.

Without so much as a word of acknowledgement after stating his order, Tobi immediately disappeared in a similar swirl as to how he had appeared. No trace of chakra, no sound, nothing. The man was completely gone in a matter of a few seconds.

Jin simply looked on in envy at the ability, almost drooling at the possibilities. However, his face remained mostly stoic as he moved his muscles around a bit to get used to the new sensations. Despite having been in a few bodies before now, it was always a bit odd getting used to their varying degrees of muscle, speed, and other such factors.

He decided to hop into the nearest tree, and go for a brief run to at least get a general idea of what he had to work with. Obviously, since the man was of Jonin rank, he had pretty decent skills. His strength was already satisfactory, though his speed could use a bit of work. His hands easily formed into sealed required for his techniques, his chakra control was pretty good, and his controls were of an acceptable level for the time being. Overall, it was acceptable, if a bit average.

He stopped, however, as he came close to the village walls. One would think it might have been because of memories or emotions that seeing said walls would bring up within the traitor's mind after having been away for so very long. However, that was not the case. No, he stopped because his eyes fell upon a girl who was punching a tree as if her life depended on it, or as if she were picturing someone's face there who had hurt her in the past.

A girl who looked exactly like the whore he had taken as a lover before he left his pitiful excuse of a village.

"Kukuku" he laughed in his maniacal way softly enough that the girl wouldn't overhear him. "This might be more fun than I thought…"

* * *

Whelp, there's Chapter 11. Not a whole lot to say to say in this one, as it's obviously just building up for the next few chapters.

Hope you enjoyed the read. As usual, I appreciate you all for reading/reviewing/favoriting/following.

See you all in the next chapter.


	12. Self-Sacrifice

**NOTES**

**Okay, so I wanted to address a few things before I begin this chapter for all of those who are continuing to read. Primarily, a few things that a particular guest reviewer brought up. **

**There will **_**never**_** be instances of rape in any of my stories, period. There may be **_**attempted**_** cases at it, but they will **_**always**_** fail. It is, in my opinion, one of the most despicable acts that can ever occur to someone and I cannot in good conscious ever write about such an event taking place. I realize that the ending of my previous chapter may have led to that assumption, but it was just phrasing things poorly on my part. Addressing Anko's mother as "the whore" was simply the way he recognized her, thus realizing that the girl might have been his own daughter. Thanks to Banjo who reviewed to make that view known to me.**

**To my other readers I have replied privately to: I know I have mentioned to several of you that there would be a "slate cleaning" chapter here. However, after taking things into consideration, I've determined that it didn't really mesh well with how the last chapter left off. Therefore, straight back into the plot we go! **

* * *

Chapter 12: Self-sacrifice

(1 year later)

The past year had been hellacious on the two jinchūriki. After finding out about the demons that were contained within their guts, Naruto vowed to work that much harder to gain recognition from the rest of the villagers for who he was, and not just for what he contained. Gaara didn't really mind one way or the other, truth be told, but he wasn't about to be left behind by the blonde.

The training had involved everything, with nothing really being excluded. Their mornings usually started with fierce conditioning mixed with individual Taijutsu practice with their respective trainers. Gaara's weights were relatively substantial now, around 100 pounds on each limb. However, Naruto's blew him out of the water with around 250 on each. Again, they were only allowed to carry so much thanks to the bijū chakra within them constantly repairing any muscle damage or tearing that occurred. It was determined that they also prevented stunted growth, judging by the multiple medical visit that showed no compression of their spines.

Their Ninjutsu and general intelligence had taken a rather steep up curve from the previous year. They could each perform numerous elemental techniques, and could easily rank within the top 3 in general intelligence for their year. Gaara could likely prove to be more strategic than a Nara, if pushed. Naruto could likely match one, though that was only due to his unpredictability at times. However, he no longer found himself endlessly lost in complex explanations or conversations.

Their forms in each of their respective styles had progressed magnificently over the year, almost to the point of advanced mastery. They definitely had the basics grasped by this point, so all they really needed was more practice. They knew all of the advanced forms, they simply needed to learn how to perform the moves naturally than trying to force them in combat. After that stage, a sensei wouldn't really be necessary. All that would be left is for them to make any adjustments they thought would fit them better, which was something only they could do anyway.

Their Genjutsu, however, still remained non-existent. They could break up to A-rank techniques now, but there was absolutely no way they could use such a small amount to cast one. The only solution for them to ever use it successfully would be to use such a powerful Genjutsu that it required more chakra to than casting a Body Flicker, and there were only 2 Genjutsu like that the Uchiha were aware of.

They also both had their "trump cards" for combat as they would call it. Naruto had been studying human biology, particularly the nervous system for quite some time, and had a very rough technique that he had begun to create on his own. Though it was still barely usable in combat thanks to the amount of damage it put on him, it was still rather amazing to be able to run lightning chakra through your entire network of nerves to improve your speed and reaction time.

Gaara, similarly to Naruto, had been working on his own original technique. He hadn't actually shown anyone what it was aside from Itachi, but they all had a rough idea that it involved sand a good quantity of wind manipulation. Needless to say, it was likely a rather devastating combination.

With the progression of Naruto's Taijutsu style, he had made a bit of an addition in the fingerless gloves he wore before. They still had the metal plate along the back for protection, but he also had a blacksmith reinforce the knuckles with a small plate of chakra metal that had been crafted by using a mold around his fist for a perfect fit. He also had the material replaced with chakra-infused leather so that the gloves wouldn't suffer any damage if he channeled his element through them. They would be very handy in the long run. He had to stop himself from slapping his forehead at the bad pun.

He had also gotten noticeably taller, standing at around 4'7 and towered over the rest of his classmates. The only one close was Gaara, who was 4'6. Shino, the tallest after that, was still around 4'4 and it only got more drastic from there. Aside from height, he was obviously the most muscular as well. However, his muscles were incredibly compact. No bulk, only what was absolutely needed for combat. His strength and speed were completely off of the charts for his age group, as were Gaara's, though the blonde was a substantially ahead of him in both. They held back in the academy for obvious reasons, but they weren't really tested a lot on it their first year either.

Throughout that year, a few things had happened. Primarily, Hinata had moved in with Anko in her apartment. The blonde wasn't entirely sure why, but assumed it had something to do with how they both blushed when he got relatively close to them now. They still acted normally, but the blush was definitely on their cheeks when he got pretty close to them. As a result, he asked Shisui to give the extra money for food to Anko instead of himself to help them out, which he did without much fuss.

Secondly, Itachi stopped showing up to train as much as before. He admitted that some of it was spent training his brother, but remained silent about his other activities. When he did actually show up, he was usually a bit more quiet and withdrawn than he was previously. However, they never really questioned it too much, as he always seemed to slip back into his usual self once they began. The 4 acted as older / younger brothers when around one another, and they were all happy to be that way around one each other.

Lastly, even Shisui seemed to be acting a bit oddly compared to usual, at least over the last few weeks. Although he still acted like his usual happy self, there were times when he looked almost as if he grew incredibly focused on something that he refused to tell them about. There was even a day where he came to the training grounds with sunglasses on, merely claiming that his eyes hurt from drinking too much the night before. Although the two boys had bought the story, they had found it incredibly fishy to say the very least.

All in all, the two jinchūriki brethren were incredibly more powerful than the previous year. Analyzing them properly, Itachi and Shisui would both agree that they Naruto was at low-Jonin level now while Gaara was high-Chunin. Despite that, Shisui made it abundantly clear that they would need to become even stronger to be able to protect themselves.

As the blonde stood in the training ground cracking his neck from finishing his sparring with Gai a few minutes ago. The man had been no less brutal than usual during their spars, and had admitted that he nearly had to push himself to go all-out in their spars now. Suffice it to say, that was quite the heavy compliment to pay a child who wasn't even a proper Genin of the village yet.

After a few basic stretches to loosen himself up a bit further, he used his recently officially mastered **Body Flicker Technique** to quickly move to the far side of the training ground. He moved over to where Gaara was sitting, slightly panting, as he leaned against a rock in the area as Gai spoke with the two Uchiha men.

"Some intense training today?" Naruto asked, not even winded from his spar. If there was one thing the Kyūbi seemed to grant him substantially more of other than chakra over the Ichibi, it was definitely his near-endless stamina.

"A bit," Gaara admitted as he wiped the sweat off of his brow. "Of course…yours probably was too."

"Bah," the blue-eyed boy responded with a dismissive wave. "It was nothing, really."

"Whatever you say," the red head responded equally dismissively. He had sparred on occasion with the spandex-clad man to "mix it up" before. While he didn't possess the grace in combat that the Uchiha fighting style seemed to possess, it was clear that his speed and power more than made up for it. Couple that with the fact that, when he struck you, it could make bones want to break and you had an intense fighting style that you wanted to do nothing but avoid getting hit by.

Of course, when having to spar with Gai, he had also been made to spar against Naruto on occasion. Suffice it to say, he usually got his ass handed to him. Without his sand to protect him, or the Sharingan to keep up with the blonde's movements a bit easier, he wouldn't win a straight Taijutsu fight. Naruto had gotten far too fast and far too strong for him to be able to keep up. He would still give him a hell of a fight, but it was always clear who the superior was in that field.

As he finished thinking about their recent bouts of sparring, however, he was pulled back to reality as Gai made his usual boisterous exit after exclaiming about the flames of youth. The two boys gave their usual chuckles afterwards, but were slightly concerned when the two Uchiha men kept their distance and kept whispering to one another.

Naruto, in particular, was a bit concerned about Shisui. It was clear from how he seemed to be leaning slightly to one side that he was injured, though he was obviously trying to hide the fact. Why he was trying to conceal that fact, or who would possibly try to hurt the man though, was currently beyond the blonde jinchūriki.

His answers, however, would not remain unanswered for long as the two Uchiha quickly made their way over to the two of the after seemingly finishing their discussion. They were both clad in their usual ANBU gear, but Itachi also had a rather large bag with him this time for some unknown reason.

The elder of the two Uchiha simply walked up to the two boys who were leaning against the rock, squatting down to be roughly eye level with the two of them. He winced as it obviously caused him a great deal of pain in his left side to do so, but he seemingly steeled himself enough to make his expression turn into a happy one, even if it was only with a small smile.

He then reached out…and ruffled with of their hair in a fatherly fashion as his smile grew into a bit more natural one.

"I'm proud of both of you, just so you know," he said as his hands spun to show a coated needle in each hand as he shoved it discreetly into a point along each of their necks. Thankfully for him, Gaara's sand armor was down and the blonde had no such natural defense in the first place. It wasn't a deep puncture, only far enough to hit a vein.

They both grew a shocked expression, even as they attempted to spring away to defend themselves, but it was too late. Even as they attempted to move, they found their muscles clenching up in a mock-paralysis sort of state. Gaara couldn't even move his sand thanks to the needle also having some sort of haze-inducing effect on the mind.

"Relax," Shisui said in a calming voice as he tossed the now-useless needles away. "It's just a paralysis poison," he admitted. "I created it in a way that won't affect your vocal chords or throat muscles, so you should be able to speak just fine."

"What's going on?" Naruto asked simply, wanting to know why he and Gaara were now paralyzed by one of the very few men they both trusted.

"To be blunt, I'm going to die," Shisui said with bravery he barely managed to conjure so he wouldn't freak out his two students even more.

"WHAT?!" Naruto and Gaara both echoed, shock obvious within their eyes, and facial expressions.

"There's a man in the village," the black haired man began, "his name is Danzo. He's a very powerful man, and with very deep connections. He found out something special about my eyes thanks to someone I thought I could trust, so now he's after me to get them. I…we can't afford to let him get his hands on them."

"What…what about the Hokage?" Naruto asked, even as a lump grew in his throat over the entire issue.

"He would try to help me," Shisui admitted with a sad smile. "However, that would put Danzo in a great deal of danger. As I said, he's a very powerful man, and he would likely try to start a civil war out of the entire incident. That's something I will **not** allow to happen, even if it costs me my life."

"And he cannot give them to him because he will use that power to start full-scale wars with other countries, and use you two as weapons," Itachi finished before they could even suggest he give in to the old war hawk's desires.

The elder Uchiha nodded at that, agreeing in full.

"Then…then why don't we just go and kill him before he can do any harm?" Gaara asked, having a similar lump in his throat to the blonde.

"Itachi and I already had to fight with 5 of his ROOT agents earlier today," Shisui admitted as he subconsciously clutched his side in pain. "We ended up with me getting hurt rather badly. Even with you two, he has around 95 more agents of his own standing by. There's no way the 4 of us could take him on and win."

"…Then hide until we get stronger!" Naruto shouted, clenching his jaw as best as he could afterwards even as hot tears began to roll down his face at the thought of losing one of his few bonds.

"Can't risk him finding me," Shisui said sadly, having already gone through that train of thought himself. "I've already thought all of this through boys, I already know what I have to do to keep the village safe."

The two jinchūriki just looked at him, doing their best to swallow down the sobs as tears now ran small rivers down their faces.

"So here's the deal," Shisui said as he sat down between the two of them. "I'm going to give you each one of my eyes."

The two boys stared at the man in shock for a moment before it turned into confusion.

"But…didn't you just say?" Gaara began to ask before he was cut off.

"Danzo will be looking for me specifically," Shisui explained. "I'm going to make it to where he will never be able to find a body, or any trace of me. Since he'll think I'm just on the run, he won't look for the individual eyes."

"More specifically, however," Shisui continued after pausing for a moment to try to keep his own emotions in check. "Unlike most others, I think you will adapt naturally to a transplant. Most people who receive a dōjutsu are incapable of turning it off once it is in. However, thanks to the regenerative power of your bijū, I think you'll be able to turn it on and off like naturals. Yet another reason he won't suspect anything unless you're caught using it."

The boys remained silent, almost as if accepting the gift would be accepting the man's death warrant.

"It's happening either way, you two," Shisui stated with a fake smile. "I'm just trying to give you one last thing to help you before I have to leave you on your own."

After a lingering moment, Gaara cleared his throat as best as he could before he spoke.

"Okay," he said softly. "I'll take one."

Shisui smiled towards him before he turned to the blonde, noting that the boy had his eyes closed as if he were in thought.

"M-me too," he said shakily, tears still streaming out from behind his eyelids.

"Good," Shisui stated warmly as he let out a rather dramatic sigh. "Good."

"He's not the only one making you two an offer," Itachi stated as he pulled a jar out of the black bag he had been carrying. Within said jar sat a pair of slightly glowing Sharingan eyes. Looking up at Itachi's face, it was clear to see that he had blood running down parts of his cheeks, seemingly from where there had been blood coming down from his eyes.

One educated guess later, and Gaara had his conclusion as to whose eyes were in the jar.

"You're…you're leaving too," the red head stated in a rare emotionally heavy voice of his own.

"For different reasons," Itachi stated, "but yes. However, I will still be alive in the long run. I make you both the same offer Shisui has made you. My eyes are also…special just as his are."

The elder of the two Uchiha resisted the urge to glance around at the man. It was saddening to know that he had all but forced Itachi to activate his eyes to save him earlier in the morning. Having been jumped by 5 ROOT agents when he was by himself, if Itachi wouldn't have interfered and killed the final one he would have ended up giving Danzo one of his eyes. That certainly would **not** have been good for the world.

However, as it turned out, the final ROOT agent was one of their mutual friends within the Uchiha compound. While he wasn't trusted with absolutely everything, Shisui had trusted them enough to reveal his Mangekyō. As it turned out, that was one of the worst mistakes he had ever made. Since Itachi had delivered the final blow, and their mask had fallen off as a result, the guilt it caused the man had awakened his own Mangekyō on the spot.

Though it was unclear of what it would do, it was something that Itachi vowed he didn't want Danzo to have his hands on either. He had stripped the ROOT Uchiha of his 2 eyes and ran off before the training session had occurred today.

Itachi had fantastic chakra control, so it was theoretically possible that he could have changed out his pair of eyes for another. However, to do so in such a short period of time and be able to use his new eyes so quickly afterwards without any sort of major strain had to be some sort of blessing.

Regardless, as the situation sat, Shisui couldn't help but grow a little more depressed at knowing that he had caused everyone to become involved in this.

"So what do you say?" Itachi asked with a mock smile of his own etched on his face.

"…Okay," Gaara croaked out again, knowing there was nothing he could likely do to stop them.

"Fine…" The blonde responded in agreement, though not sounding pleased about it. "What….what will happen to you, Itachi-sensei?"

"After tonight?" He asked, his eyes narrowing a bit afterwards as he remembered the particular conversation he had overheard between two individuals. "After tonight, I will be considered a traitor to Konoha. Unfortunately…you two will probably suffer even more hardship because of that."

Itachi cursed himself inwardly a bit, not having thought that through. He had just been speaking to Shisui about the issue revolving around their clan, but the impact it would have on their two students hadn't been brought up.

"What?" The two boys asked, somewhat taken aback by what they had just been told. Of all people to turn traitor, Itachi seemed to be the least likely candidate. He had drilled into their heads time and time again just how important the village's safety was.

"It's…complicated," Itachi said honestly. "I am just doing what is best for Konoha, but many will not see it that way." He then looked up at the sky, noting that it was starting to become somewhat late in the afternoon, and he would have to make his move soon.

"Shisui," he stated plainly, getting the point across in just the one word.

"I know," he responded as he looked up at the sky, taking in one last glance as the sun began to set. He only wished he could see his beautiful girlfriend's face one more time, but if he did, he likely wouldn't be able to bring himself to go through with his plan. He then turned his gaze to the two boys who were still slumped against the rock.

"Before I knock you two out for this, there's something you need to know," he stated as he looked at each of them. "There's a secret panel underneath each of your beds where I've hidden a few things just in case. Itachi threw a few things in there was well before he came here I think."

Glancing back towards his best friend, he smiled a bit when he saw him nod.

"When you wake up, take a look there, okay?" Shisui said with another smile, even as his own voice began to shake a bit in fear of what was going to be coming.

"You two…will have to see for me from now on. Make sure that you keep my village safe in my stead, alright?" He couldn't stop tears from slowly beginning to well in the corners of his eyes as he spoke. Despite acknowledging that this needed to happen, it didn't stop the feelings of fear and sadness running through his heart and mind.

"Hai," both boys responded in thick voices, clearly trying to make themselves sound a bit more emotionally stable than they really were.

"Good," he responded with another smile even as tears dripped down his cheeks. "I wouldn't want to have to kick your asses again after we meet up again, after all."

Not wanting to have to put himself through any more emotional turmoil, and knowing that he was now pushing Itachi to be short on time, he quickly walked over and pressed a pressure point on the back of each boy's neck. Moments later, they both lying flat on the ground in an unconscious state.

With little more than a sickening plop, and a small outcry of pain, Shisui turned around to Itachi with his right hand extended holding a familiar pair of eyes that had the Sharingan emblazed in the pupil.

"I leave it to you now, Itachi," Shisui said with a smile. "Watch out for them and the village if you get the opportunity."

"I will," Itachi said somewhat shakily as he walked up and hugged his best friend. He wasn't one for showing emotional displays, especially not hugs, but this was one situation he didn't mind it in.

"Gi….Gi- Give this to her, will you?" Shisui asked as he fumbled around his belt until he pulled out a simple vanilla envelope with a seal engraved in the front.

"Alright," Itachi said as he took the man's letter. He couldn't exactly turn it down, especially seeing as he had one written for a certain Ice Queen himself.

"Take care of yourself," Shisui said shakily once more as he stared into blackness at where he assumed his friend would be. "What I said for the boys goes to you too."

Without another word, or waiting to hear a response, one of Konoha's greatest shinobi was gone.

Itachi, meanwhile, walked in between the two boys with the two orbs of Shisui as well as the two of his own. He set them carefully to the side as he reached over to the blonde first.

'_This shouldn't take long,' _he thought as he plunged his fingers in and began to gently pull.

* * *

(1 hour and 15 minutes later)

Itachi stood over the now-cooling remains of his mother and father, who had spoken to him moments before their death. His tears were still drying from how they had supported his decision in their own way, even though they knew it would result in their death.

Truth be told, he had been ordered to do as much by Danzo earlier today. The short story was that if he massacred the entire clan, then his brother would be permitted to live. Little did the old war hawk know that Shisui would not be among the members he had slain, so his eyes would not be available to him. Whether that was his true purpose, or whether it was truly squashing any threat of a coup d'état, Itachi wasn't entire sure. However, in his mind, he was killing two birds with one stone. His brother would be permitted to live, and he had ensured the village would not be subject to a bloody civil war that would leave them vulnerable to outside forces.

He stopped thinking on the matter, however, when he felt a familiar stinging in his eyes. The guilt of killing his parents, elderly, and even children had caused his new eyes to morph once again into a familiar pinwheel design.

That pain was rendered inert, however, as he heard the emotionally strained shout of his little brother enter his ears. It started as a distant echo, at least at first, before he could tell he was directly outside of the door.

The Uchiha man sheathed his bloodied sword, closing his eyes and stepping into the darkness as a few silent sobs wracked through his body. As Sasuke entered, however, he stepped forward as if he was laying claim to the deed that was in front of him.

"Big brother?" Sasuke asked, as he looked up with tears in his eyes, unsure of what was going on. He was still so young, who would possibly imagine what could go through his mind at seeing his parents like this.

"Sasuke…" Itachi said as he opened his eyes and flared his newly realized Mangekyō.

"**Tsukuyomi!"**

* * *

(Meanwhile, in the southern part of the village)

Anko and "Jin" were walking up the street towards the apartment complex that Anko had been living in. She was walking somewhat nervously, as she still wasn't quite used to the man's teaching methods or personality just yet. At times, he seemed to be incredibly nice and lenient. However, when it came to training, he was brutal and efficient.

It was because of this training that she was currently put in this position, as much as she didn't like it. Despite that, she did feel like she owed her roommate something after all she had done to try to convince her. It certainly wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Jin-sensei?" Anko asked in a polite tone, causing the man to turn his head towards her.

"Yes?" He asked equally politely.

"I was…wondering. Would it…be possible to allow my friend to train with us sometimes?"

The man's brow scrunched a bit, but his eyes held a sparkle of curiosity at her request, so she pressed forward.

"I showed her the fighting style you've been teaching me…and she says it resembles her clan's old style. She hates them, but I think she still wants to learn it."

"I see," Jin responded as he thought about the request. "The Hyūga girl, yes?"

Anko merely nodded in response, having not found it odd since she talked about her a bit to the man previously.

"So long as she is willing to train…I have no quarrels with it. If I find her too weak though…" Jin let the threat hang in the air, letting the girl do the thinking for him on that matter.

"I don't think that will be a problem, sensei," Anko said with a smile as they reached the stairs of the apartment complex. "Thank you for walking me home!"

Jin merely bowed, giving her a brief smile before he turned away. He was more than aware that Anko was beginning to look at him more like a father figure, which would make his plan that much easier in the end. His eyes flashed a malicious shade of yellow with vertical slits for pupils before they returned to their original shape and color.

'_Yess…infecting them both if the other girl is strong would be marvelous," _he thought with a cackle to himself as he continued to walk into the darkness. Despite being one of the worlds' most highly regarded shinobi, however, even he was unaware of the massive quantity of blood that had been spilled in the Uchiha district that night.

* * *

**Done!**

**Hope you enjoyed the read. Still enjoying all the views you guys give me along with favs/follows/reviews. Never expected so many people to enjoy it, but I'm certainly happy they do. **

**Happy to report that last chapter pushed me over the 10k mark for views with over 100 follows now. My Rise of the Namikaze story is also doing quite well in that regard. Thanks so much for all of your support. **

**Next chapter will reveal something that will make the title of the story INFINTIELY more relevant. Hope you all look forward to that, as I know I do. It will also introduce the only OC I intend to the story. All others will be from the Naruto universe or another anime/manga. Getting closer to that point, so I expect some people will likely get frustrated as they see the crossovers. Rest assured, I intend to adhere rather strictly to Naruto universe rules, I just suck at actually making my own original characters. **

**Anyway, that's all for the time being. Posting this chapter up a bit earlier than usual due to feeling rather ecstatic for all of the views and such, so enjoy getting 2 chapters in 1 day again. **

**Until next time guys/gals!**


	13. Inheritance

Chapter 13: Inheritance

* * *

Several hours later

Naruto awoke, immediately opening his eyes only to see the back of bandages. He quickly reached up and ripped them off without thinking, not even realizing that he should be thankful that he was in a dark room. In particular, he was in his own room, staring up at his ceiling while on his bed. His mind didn't even need time to realize that it wasn't a dream, and he knew what had happened was real, even if his heart pleaded for it only to be a nightmare.

Resisting the urge to cry, as Shisui had taught him to restrain that emotion as best as possible under important situations. He walked out of his bedroom and into the bathroom as he flipped on the lights, wincing a bit at how bright it was. He then took a look into the mirror and found himself somewhat surprised.

Just as Shisui had said, his eyes were his own. The bright blue that had always been there was still there, and he could see it more clearly than ever. In fact, he could make out everything a bit better than before, though it wasn't _too_ noticeable. At least, that was the case until he absent-mindedly channeled chakra into his eyes like Itachi and Shisui had told him had to be done a long time ago to activate the Sharingan.

Immediately, the world changed. He still saw everything in color, contrary to how it was explained to most people outside of the Uchiha clan. However, to him, all of the colors seemed to dull a bit. As he moved a bit in the mirror, however, he saw that his eyes followed the movement easier. What would've been a blurred motion before, he saw as if it were crystal clear. He could even make out the individual finger-tips on his hand as he waved it past his face as fast as he possibly could.

He glanced into his own eyes' reflection, and saw that they had changed in appearance. In particular, a 3-tomoed Sharingan in each of his eyes, as was unique of the Uchiha clan.

Unknowingly, he then subconsciously channeled more chakra into his eyes as he looked at them in the mirror and was rather surprised at what he found. Not having seen it before, he watched in awe as his left eye changed into what looked like a shuriken with the 4 points pointing in a cardinal direction. After that, in between each point, a thin line stretched out and traveled to the two adjacent points and connected which resulted in a full loop. **(My description of Shisui's eternal Mangekyō, since I don't believe there's an official one to use)**

In his right eye, he had a pinwheel shape with 3 points, though lines came from the points and traveled down into the next point, also making it a full loop. Each eye slightly different, but still being quite similar, just like the two people that had awakened them.

'_This must've been what they were talking about,' _Naruto thought with a moment of realization as he was staring at the "special" Sharingan as Shisui had said. He didn't know which ones were which, but he didn't care right now. As the blonde continued staring at his changed appearance, he felt a wave of sorrow hit him full force. He didn't bother trying to hold back as fresh tears pooled into his eyes and he reached up and put a still-gloved palm over each eye.

'_Brothers…I won't let you down. I will achieve not only my dreams…but yours as well. I will help to keep peace in Konoha as best I can. I promise you, and you both know that I don't break a promise.' _

The blonde slowly made himself exit the bathroom after allowing himself to openly cry for a few moments, a few tears still running down his cheeks. He had no idea how long he had been out on his bed, but aside from the brief sensitivity to light he had for a few minutes, his eyes felt fine. In fact, one could say that they felt absolutely fantastic aside from how puffy they were feeling from the crying.

However, upon reviewing what had happened in the training field not too long ago, he remembered what Shisui had told him. He quickly pushed his bed to the side, forcibly enough to make it scrape against the floor rather loudly, as he dropped to his knees at the tile underneath it. He had never made any hiding spots of his own, so Shisui or Itachi must've put this here when he wasn't paying attention.

He slowly lifted the tile, showing a good number of things inside. Sitting atop them all, however, was a scroll that had his name on the front. Unrolling it, he dried his tears enough to try to read through it all.

* * *

_Naruto, as I write this, I am writing this in case an event occurs in which I am forced to leave the village for any particular reason, as I am growing weary of a certain man. If I have not told you of this hiding spot yet, please come talk to me before progressing any further. Otherwise, please read on. _

_First, I cannot express how proud I am of both you and Gaara. You two were…interesting to say the very least, but definitely in a good way. One of the biggest regrets I'm going to have is not seeing how the two of you will kick ass later in life, just like I know you both will. After all, I don't expect any less from my little brothers. _

The blonde had to take a moment to calm himself down after reading that last line, but he did after a few minutes. He picked the scroll back up and kept reading.

_Second, as you've no doubt seen, I've left you some gifts for when I'm gone. I'd suggest waiting a little bit before you use some of it around in case I have to leave the village on a sour note, but it's your decision. I also left some notes in here, but some of it is blacked out to protect certain things, my name being a prime example just for safety's sake. Please try to keep it under wraps as to whose stuff this is, or you'll have people coming after you for what's in here. _

_I've left you several bottles of sake in here as well. I know you aren't of age to drink just yet, so I expect you to only use these on very special occasions. If there's one major piece of advice that I could give you, it's to always make sure you drink responsibly. If I find that you don't, I won't hesitate to come back and kick your ass myself no matter where I am. After all, older brothers are meant to keep the younger ones in line, right? If nothing else, consider these future presents for all of the events you'll go through when you're older since I might not be able to be there to help you through it all._

The blonde had to let out a strained chuckle at that, even as tears continued to fall down.

_Finally, watch out for Gaara and Itachi for me. I don't know if he has ever come out and told you, but you're apparently the one who saved Gaara from a great depression that was overtaking him when you two met. If you hadn't befriended him…then I don't know what would've happened. You have a good heart brother, and I hope that it can be used to help you and others later on in your life. Just remember that there are times that a shinobi must harden his heart to survive, particularly around enemies. However, don't let the lack of emotion you feel in that time allow you to commit great atrocities that you will get nightmares about for the rest of your life. Too many great shinobi have fallen to that, so make sure you aren't one of them. _

_Your way of the ninja was one of the best kind there are, Naruto. To protect those precious to you, you gain strength to keep them safe. Never forget that, and use it to motivate you to become stronger, as I won't be able to be there to help you anymore. I hope that, to an extent, you will also use that power to help keep my way of the ninja alive as well by maintaining peace as best you can to fulfill both of our dreams at once. _

_I love you little brother, I know you'll be sad I'm gone because it's your nature, but try not to miss me too much. _

_-You know who it is. _

_P.S. I know about that reckoning you said you'd get on me for dying your hair pink so long ago. Looks like you won't get the chance anymore. Just the same, you would've never bested the king. _

The letter was ended with a chibi-style drawing of Shisui, holding up a victory sign towards whoever was reading it.

* * *

After finishing the scroll, the blonde didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Shisui didn't often speak a lot to them, so hearing so much at once was a bit…overwhelming, especially since it would be the last words he could remember him by. Regardless, it always seemed like the man tried to make up for every tear he made you shed with a laugh or smile to counter it.

He eventually settled on rolling the scroll up and gently tucking it away into the hiding spot as a reaction. Shedding any more tears would have to wait for the time being. He then looked through everything else that was inside as he tried to ward off his warring emotions.

True to his word, Shisui left 5 bottles of sake inside along with a few drinking saucers stacked up neatly. There were also 3 sets of ANBU-style armor and black clothing, along with a custom-made fox mask. Next to them was a katana, likely Shisui's very own or at least one of his spares. Then, spread out in the center, was what many would consider the Holy Grail.

Jutsu scrolls, a **lot** of them. Along with a good deal of books, and a handful of journals that likely contained his personal notes as well. In particular, the jutsu scrolls seemed to cover elemental manipulation and some other techniques that he had yet to learn. However, one thing was somewhat surprising, which was the giant scroll at the bottom of the stack. He wasn't interested in it for the time being though, and tucked the information away to remind himself to take a look at it later.

The blonde reached in and took out a bottle of the sake, remembering how warm and somewhat drowsy that enough of the stuff had made him feel before. Thinking about it for a long moment, he also took 2 drinking saucers before replacing the top of the hiding spot and moving his bed back into place.

After he finished, he quickly stepped out of his apartment since his sandals were still on, and made his way over 2 doors, coming to the second-to-last apartment on that level and gave it a few solid knocks. Looking up into the sky, the sun was completely down. He honestly had no idea what time it was, but he didn't care at the moment either.

"Go away," he heard a strained voice on the other side of the door say.

"I…It's me Gaara," Naruto said, hoping that would be enough. It seemingly was, as he heard someone get up and the footsteps they made as they walked to the door and turned the knob. When the door opened, he saw a red-headed boy slightly shorter than himself who had obviously been crying judging by the tear stains on his face and how puffy his eyes were.

"Come in," Gaara said shakily as the blonde stepped forward and the red head closed the door behind him. Naruto did just that, and took a seat on the left side of the touch as Gaara took a seat on his right. Without a word, Naruto set down the two saucers and somewhat shakily poured a drink for both of them.

Some of the alcohol spilled out over the table, but it wasn't of importance to either one of them at the moment. He carefully handed a saucer to Gaara, even as he took the other saucer for himself as he turned to the red head.

"To Shisui-sensei and Itachi-sensei," Naruto said through the lump in his throat with a slight raise of his saucer. Gaara nodded as he raised his own glass, likely not trusting his voice to actually speak at that moment before they both tossed back the drink as a sour expression crossed both of their faces. The stuff still tasted disgusting, but tonight…tonight it was worth it. It was an unspoken agreement as they both set their saucers down, even as Naruto poured them another drink.

"I…Have you tried yours out yet?" The blue-eyed boy asked, sending a quick glance to Gaara. As he saw the red head's eyes switch to a familiar red tone with 3 tomoe, he had his answer even as they quickly reverted to their usual blueish-green color.

"Good…," Naruto said as he closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again, not really knowing where to go from there in conversation.

After that, the two boys drank through half of the bottle in silence. They had increased resistance to the drink thanks to their tenants and progression in age from the last time they drank, but they were still only 8-9 years old. Half of the relatively large bottle got them rather tipsy.

"What are we going to do now?" Gaara asked in sincerity, not really having thought of an answer. He had a somewhat large blush across the bridge of his nose, clearly feeling the effects of the alcohol.

"We use the…inheritance that we were left and become stronger," Naruto answered in equal sincerity. "Shisui-sensei left me a lot of scrolls, books, and stuff. I assume he and Itachi did the same for you?"

Gaara nodded, having seen all of the stuff Shisui left him with a few things from Itachi as well beneath his bed in a hiding spot that was just like the blonde's own.

"We'll skip the academy class tomorrow…and we'll go to the Hokage instead. We should at least tell him about everything. Thankfully that Jin guy is training Anko and I hear he's helping Hinata a bit as well, but we need to find someone for Lee to help him as well," Naruto admitted, giving thoughts as he thought to his remaining friends. "If they're going to be around us a lot, then they need to be able to defend themselves. Shisui-sensei said that we would probably be hated even more than before after this."

"…Agreed," Gaara responded as he took a refilled saucer and tossed it back. "They need to get stronger with us. I don't want them to get hurt because of me."

Naruto, meanwhile, glanced outside of the one window that Gaara had near his front door, and saw that the sun was starting to rise from the horizon.

'_I get the distinct feeling that the rest of today is going to suck,' _Naruto thought as he quickly refilled a saucer of his own once again. _'It's going to be a bad day.'_

* * *

(3 hours later)

The Sake bottle was now long since empty between the two jinchūriki, though the effects had also long since worn off. It turns out that having an entity inside of you that makes poison almost unable to kill you does wonders in sobering you up quickly from any alcohol that enters your system. They might be able to get drunk, but it was incredibly difficult to stay that way.

The two boys found themselves simply slumped against the couch, almost unable to work up the willpower to move, even though they knew that they at least needed to report to the Hokage before things got too serious.

"We should get moving," Gaara said as he brought himself up into a standing position while still wearing his usual black training clothes that matched the blonde's own. The green shawl that was usually over his shoulders was now nowhere to be found, seemingly having been discarded.

"…Alright. Let's at least let them know that we won't be going to the academy today," Naruto said, not wanting to get on the bad side of the girls that were close to him. Despite not really acknowledging them because puberty hadn't made itself known, he instinctively knew to do what they asked most of the time, so long as it was within reason of course.

The blonde reluctantly pulled himself up with Gaara before they both went and washed their mouths out with some water to diminish the smell of sake on their breaths. Afterwards, they exited the red heads apartment as Gaara made his way to the stairs.

"Oi," Naruto said as he paused to look at Gaara as he separated. "Aren't you going to tell them with me?"

"No way," he responded with a very slight smirk on his otherwise depressed face. "You can handle it."

"Oh gee, thanks buddy," Naruto replied sarcastically with a small smirk of his own. He made his way up to the door and gave it a few knocks, waiting to see if the two girls were even up yet. They definitely should be by this hour, but you never know. He didn't even hear footsteps before the door opened, much to his surprise.

Once it opened, he had to smile at the sight. Hinata stood at the doorway, clad in a pair of short shorts and a black training t-shirt. Her hair had grown out somewhat, though she still kept the same hairstyle for the most part. Peeking into the background, the blonde could also make out the shape of the awakening Anko. She was clad in similar clothing, though it was a light brown t-shirt instead of a black one and she had her hair up in a spiked ponytail.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked groggily. "Why are you here so…" She stopped and gave out a yawn. "…early?"

The blonde couldn't help but smile a little wider at the fact that she was just waking up. However, he had things to do.

"Ah, I just wanted to let you know Gaara and I won't be at the academy today. We have something to take care of."

"That's fine," Hinata mumbled as she rubbed some of the sleep out of her eyes. "Anko is going to train with Jin, and I'm supposed to meet someone named Kurenai today to help me out with some basic Genjutsu training."

"Oh, Hokage-Jiji already got someone to train you in stuff other than Taijutsu?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious.

"Yeah," the lavender-eyed girl mumbled, "I was told just yesterday. Jin helps me with things other than Taijutsu too, but he apparently wants more one on one time with Anko."

"Well it's good you're getting your own teacher to help you with things," Naruto said with a sincere smile. "We'll hopefully be back before too long, but it might take longer than expected."

"Okay," Hinata mumbled but giving a sincere smile towards the blonde. "Say hi to Hawk for me."

The blue-eyed boy had to struggle not to let his face contort at hearing her cheerfully talking about him. However, he knew he couldn't let on that he knew about what happened. He steeled his face as best as he could and tried not to show a visible reaction.

"I will," Naruto responded with a fake smile towards her. "Let Lee know for me if you see him."

"I will," Hinata said cheerfully as the blonde began to take a few steps back and begin to leave. "I'll see you later Naruto-kun!"

The blonde just put up a hand and waved at her, never even acknowledging the slight blush that was on her face throughout most of the conversation. He quickly hopped down the stairs 2 at a time, finding Gaara already waiting at the bottom.

"Body Flicker to the tower?" Gaara asked.

"Yup, meet you there," Naruto responded before he disappeared in a small smoke cloud. The red head followed shortly after with a small plume of sand left in his wake.

* * *

Moments later, the two boys arrived in front of the Hokage tower, noticing that the tower was rather abuzz with activity. There was a shown display of force with ANBU out in front, along with many of the Chunin-ranked shinobi that worked within the tower running in and out. It was rather clear that there was absolutely no chance of getting in at the moment through the front door.

"Window?" Gaara asked, noting the exposed window towards the top of the tower that was always left unguarded for some reason.

"Window," Naruto confirmed as they both body flickered up there, and the blonde knocked on the window to draw the old man's attention outside.

A few moments later, the window was opened by Hiruzen, who gave the boys a somewhat-warm smile from his empty office. It seems that they had caught him at a good time.

"Naruto-kun, Gaara-kun, I take it you have something to tell me?" The old man asked, his age being shown more than usual today judging by the wrinkles that were prominently displayed on his face.

"Hai, Jiji," Naruto responded, as Gaara gave a silent nod behind him. They were immediately beckoned inside to the room.

"ANBU," Hiruzen stated, "out."

Without a word, 3 masked agents came out of the wall and quickly vanished in plumes of smoke after using the **Body Flicker Technique** to move away.

"Now, take it this has to do with Itachi?" The aged man asked as he set his hat down on the desk and activated a silencing seal on his desk which would make the office sound proof. Even the open window wouldn't allow any sound to escape.

Naruto, who had moved to a seat across the Hokage desk and sat down next to Gaara, simply closed his eyes for a long moment before responding.

"This should tell you what you need to know," he stated as he opened his eyelids, revealing the 2 distinct versions of the Mangekyō Sharingan within his eyes.

The old man felt himself age another year or two at the sight, knowing all too well that it was going to be more Hell once people found out. However, just like many other aspects of the boy, the Hokage realized that he could at least hide it for as long as possible.

"I see," he stated in a neutral voice. "Are you aware of what happened last night?"

"Somewhat," Naruto replied honestly before he let his eyes slip back into their usual blue color. "Shisui-sensei should be currently missing, and Itachi-sensei said that he would be considered a traitor, but he didn't specify why."

Hiruzen just nodded in response, having known the full details of Itachi's mission last night, or at least he thought he did. He didn't know about the plans to give the 2 Jinchūriki what was arguably the best Dojutsu within the village, though he couldn't blame them for doing it either.

"I suppose I should tell you then," the old man said with a sigh. "Last night, the Uchiha clan in its entirety was butchered by Itachi save only his little brother."

The two boys in front of him looked a bit shocked, but didn't seem repulsed or scared as he thought they would be. It was clear that Itachi had hinted the true purpose behind the event to them, even if he didn't tell them what he was planning to do.

"You know that you're going to be questioned about everything?" The old Sarutobi clan member continued.

"I was hoping we could just report directly to you and that you could handle the council's questions," Naruto replied. "I'm rather dense at times, but from what I understand, I wouldn't want anything to do with most of the people within that room."

Hiruzen gave it some thought, but nodded again afterwards. As Hokage, after all, he had supreme authority over shinobi matters. While the two boys were not directly under his command as of yet, the involvement of 2 of his ANBU agents made it his own matter. As such, the civilian side of the council could not legally argue his say on the matter.

"That would probably be for the best," he said while looking to the blonde, giving voice to his thoughts. "So what happened?"

"To make a long story short, just report that we were knocked out by Itachi after a day of training and Shisui never showed up. We were told, however, that he wasn't going to kill something he invested so much time into," Naruto stated with a grimace at having to talk so poorly about a man he respected. However, he was thankful that they had waited a good amount of time before they came here so that he could calm down and gave what he was going to say some real thought.

"That…should actually work," Hiruzen stated with slightly widened eyes, not having expected to be given such a believable story by the young blonde. He could tell that he was lying easily, but Hiruzen wasn't someone he had to convince to his side either.

"Alright, I will tell them just that," Hiruzen said as he took out a small scroll, brush, and ink and began rushing through some kanji at a breakneck pace which intrigued the young blonde in the room. "However," Hiruzen continued without stopping the strokes of his brush, "I want you to tell me the real story in exchange."

"Shisui-sensei…plans to kill himself," Naruto said with a neutral tone as he tried to kill the emotions rising up in him as he spoke as he was taught. "Apparently he figured out that someone named Danzo was going to try to get his eyes."

The old man's brush stopped for a long moment before it continued, though it was clear that it wasn't as smooth of writing as before. Struggling to keep your hand from shaking in anger will do that to your calligraphy.

"He said that he was going to "erase his existence," so that they wouldn't be able to find a body. Since he was going to go that far, he wanted to give his eyes to us first. Itachi-sensei said something about becoming a traitor like I said before, but he said it was ultimately to protect the village. I don't know what he meant, but he also wanted to give us his eyes."

"I see," Hiruzen said as he put the brush down, rolling up the scroll immediately afterwards before he ran an aged hand over his face. "from what you've told me, you each have 1 of their eyes then?"

"Hai," Naruto responded as Gaara gave a silent nod.

"I'm assuming I don't have to tell you to keep it a secret?" The Hokage asked, earning a shake of the head from each boy. "Good…good. Anything else?"

"Actually…yeah," Naruto said as he brought what he had thought of while watching the old man write kanji a few moments ago to the front of his mind. "How good are you at sealing, Jiji?"

The man's eyes widened for a moment, hearing that question coming from out of left-field in a manner of speaking.

"I…I'm fairly skilled," he admitted modestly. "I'm a level 5 seal master, so I couldn't compare to Jiraiya or the Yondaime in the subject. Why do you ask?"

"Three reasons," Naruto responded as he held up the appropriate number of fingers. "One, I think having the Sharingan and Shadow Clone Jutsu will drastically help my speed at learning the subject. Being able to perform a perfect kanji stroke after watching it once will make things a lot easier, as will the photographic memory I have while reading when it's activated."

Hiruzen nodded in response, agreeing with that point. The Sharingan definitely did make perfecting your hand writing incredibly simple while the photographic memory helped to create the appropriate symbols in the right order every time.

"Two, it is a powerful subject that was the only way to seal a Bijū, so I naturally want to learn as much about it as I can."

Hiruzen nodded at the blonde again, all too well aware of just how powerful the subject could be.

"Three," Naruto said with a pause as his eyes locked onto the old man's. "It runs in the family."

The aged man just closed his eyes, almost kicking his own ass for telling Shisui the secret. However, there was no undoing the past now. He opened his eyes up and stared into the piercing blue ones that were still boring into him.

"So you know." Hiruzen stated, not really needing to ask. "Your father as well?"

"Yeah," Naruto confirmed. "I understand why you hid it though. I don't intend to tell anyone, at least not yet."

The aged Kage could only sigh a bit in relief, not having been ready for the political cluster fuck that would inevitably occur with Iwa once the information got out. However, keeping a promise he once made to himself, he tapped a hidden button on his desk which opened a sealed drawer that had been lined with seals to ward off Byakugan users from the secret.

Inside was a relatively large scroll, about the length of your wrist to your elbow in length. It wasn't very wide, but it didn't really need to be. He took out the scroll and placed it on the top of his desk. On the top was a small area for blood along with the Uzumaki and Namikaze clan symbols.

"Part of your…inheritance," Hiruzen answered the unasked question. "You'll need to know basic containment and unsealing in order to use it though. You've been taught how to do that much by now, I assume?"

"Yeah," Naruto answered truthfully as he picked up the scroll on the desk and looked it over before slid it into his left pants' pocket. "I can't make any containment seals on my own, but I know how to use existing ones to seal and unseal stuff."

"Good," Hiruzen said as he gave the boy a nod. "Only practice anything in them when you're by yourself and in secret."

The blonde responded by nodding, knowing that this information shouldn't become public knowledge yet.

"…Gaara, do you have interest in learning sealing as well?" Hiruzen asked, catching the red head somewhat off-guard since he hadn't been needed in most of the conversation.

"One day in the future, perhaps," Gaara answered. "At the moment, I'm more interested in perfecting my shape and elemental manipulation."

Hiruzen gave a nod before he picked up a blank scroll and brought out his brush and ink again.

"Even though that's the case, both of you go ahead and activate your Sharingan. I'm going to run through all of the individual kanji and symbols you will need to perfect for sealing. This way you should both get perfect handwriting for whenever you decide to start."

Both boys nodded as they activated the familiar set of eyes, gazing intently at the wrinkled hand as it dipped into the fresh ink.

'_Hopefully, Naruto, you will bless this village with your seals just as your parents did,' _the aged man thought as he began to carefully pain kanji on the scroll. _'It would go a long way in getting them to accept you.'_

* * *

The spikey-haired blonde walked into his apartment, closing the door softly as he did. The meeting with the Hokage had gone better than he expected, and he still had the display of impressive kanji writing swimming through his mind. True to his word, the aged man had let them see every single kanji and symbol that he knew. As a result, when the time came, he and Gaara should have no difficulty in creating the various components of a seal. The only struggle would come when composing it all into the seal itself as well as designing them. That…that would take time regardless of their powerful eyes.

All in all, it had been a much more productive encounter than either boy expected. Ideally, the council would be held off from being aggressive towards them, and they could still continue what they were doing before. They might have lost Itachi and Shisui, but they could still train in the grounds with one another since it was usually reserved for the Hokage anyway.

On top of all that, the blonde had also gotten the scroll that obviously had something to do with his parents, even if he didn't know what was included just yet. He had a hunch, certainly, but had no way to be sure until he opened it. However, he decided to save how emotional that was likely to be for another day. He was eager to open it, of that there was no doubt, but he was still struggling to control his emotions over the loss of Itachi and Shisui. Getting more piled on top of it…well it was safe to say that he wasn't ready for it just yet.

Instead, he elected to hide it within the secret spot that Shisui had apparently created underneath his bed. While he was storing it away, the giant scroll that was sitting at the bottom drew his attention once again. Deciding that whatever he found shouldn't be too emotionally draining since it didn't look like something Shisui had personally written, he hefted it out after rearranging the way everything else sat inside. It wasn't all that heavy, but it was rather large. It would extend either side off of a full-grown man's back horizontally by about a foot or so and was rather thick to boot.

Seeing that there was no seal on the front except for a clasp that was in the shape of a leaf, he unceremoniously unrolled it. On the far right-hand side was some kanji that looked like instructions. To the left of that was a series of empty rectangles, nothing written in even the first one. He glanced to the right-hand side and decided to read the kanji.

_Summoning Contract_

_Whomsoever deems their self to be worthy of handling my power shall sign their names in the provided area along with their fingerprints in blood. When you are ready, use the following hand seals and put your hand to the ground to begin your judgment._

The blonde thought for only a moment before he bit sharply down on his thumb, knowing that Shisui would've only given him this scroll for a reason. He quickly wrote down his name in the first box, and used his bloodied thumb to coat each of the fingers of his right hand before planting them below his name.

Noting that he still had quite a bit of time before anyone should come looking for him, he performed the series of 20 hand seals and poured the chakra into his hand before he slapped it to the ground. He felt a _tremendous_ pull on his reserves for a few long moments, draining them almost halfway before he vanished in a poof of smoke.

* * *

The blonde then reappeared, instantaneously, at a location that was hundreds of miles away. It was clear he was within a cave, though he wasn't aware as to where said cave was located. It was actually more of a hallowed dome than a cave, though there was a tunnel directly behind him that seemed to lead to daylight. As he looked forward, he saw a slightly elevated platform, upon which lay a creature that absolutely terrified him just from his size alone.

The platform had to be nearly 2 miles wide, but the giant snake laying atop it in a coil struggled to fit, and had to coil upon his own body to do so successfully. Each scale on the creature was bigger than your typical 6 foot man, and the creature was composed of thousands of them. Each one was a deep purple color, resulting in a beautifully colored specimen. The head was a bit odd for a snake, though not outrageously so. On the back of the skull, 3 horn-like protrusions jutted from each side. The first was the largest, and they fell in size as they fell back in perfect symmetry with the counterparts on the other side of the skull. The creature's eyes were currently closed, so it wasn't clear what color they were, though he also had a black underbelly that was visible on certain areas. That also seemed to be covered in scales, but they looked far less sturdy than the others did.

As he studied the creature he was admittedly somewhat frightened of, he saw a forked, pink tongue flick out and lick at the air. The size of the tongue alone could likely devour 40-50 men, which was incredibly impressive for any creature.

"**Step forward." **the snake said in a deep, booming voice. It didn't contain any malice or bloodlust, but the sheer volume of it made the blonde jump a bit.

'_Snakes…cool!'_

* * *

**Done. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. **

**Still love all of the follows/favorites/reviews guys and gals. Thanks so much for all of the continued support, kind words, and critiquing. Again, I will _usually_ only reply to people through private messages unless you're talking as a visitor, so don't be shy to express your opinions. **

**I imagine some people won't exactly like the idea of giving him the contract, but keep in mind that I haven't confirmed anything _just_ yet. He obviously did sign the contract, but you might be a bit surprised with what exactly I'm doing with it. The snake at the end is _not_ Manda as you have come to know him from Cannon / other fan fiction stories. He only looks similar, and for good reason as you will find out next chapter. **

**Until ten, however, thanks for reading! See you all whenever I put out the next chapter.**


	14. A Trial and Sparring

**Okay, so this is the largest chapter to date thus far. This was meant to be 2 separate chapters, but the first one was just FAR too short to be considered one in and of itself. Sorry for the rather obvious merging of the two, but I figured you'd all prefer a longer chapter compared to a pathetically short one. **

* * *

Chapter 14: A Trial/Sparring

Realizing that he had no idea where he was, the blonde did as the gigantic snake requested. As he did, the giant creature's head, which was lying directly in front of the steps that could lead up towards it, shifted slightly to the side as the creature opened its eyes.

Within each socket was a rather astonishing sight to behold. Within each black gash along its head stood an icy blue eyeball that matched his own natural eye color with a white slit running vertically along them for pupils. However, not letting that affect him too much, the blonde continued walking forward until he was standing close enough to touch the snake's massive jaw even as the giant continued to eye him over in appraisal.

"**You are young," **it stated simply, waiting for a reply.

"I…am sure many are young compared to yourself," Naruto stated. Despite being schooled for manners, he still wasn't naturally gifted with them, and didn't even realize that what he said could've been taken as an insult. Luckily for him, a rumble shook the chamber as the giant snake chucked from its belly.

"**True," **it spoke again, keeping his answer brief. It prepared to speak again before the blonde spoke up first.

"May I ask you a question?" Naruto asked as he gazed into the creature's blue eye.

"…**You may," **the creature responded in a deep, and distinctly male sounding voice.

"Where am I?" The blue-eyed boy asked plainly.

"**A cavern 5 miles away from Ryūchi Cave," **the snake responded. **"I don't expect one as young as yourself to have heard of it." **

"Well, you're right about that," Naruto agreed with a trademark grin despite his situation. "I can't say I've heard of it. I apologize though, it was rude of me to ask a question without introducing myself. I'm-"

"**Uzumaki Naruto, I am aware," **the snake finished for him as he took the memory from what had been engrained in him. **"I learned your name the moment you signed my contract." **

"That was _your_ contract?" Naruto asked in a bit of awe, still not used to seeing something this massive. "Wait…I thought summoning contracts usually involved some sort of trial first?"

"**You are well informed for one your age," **the snake said with a grin tugging at its lips. **"Yes, all contracts do have a trial, my own included." **

"May I ask what your trial is then…uh…I'm sorry, I don't know your name," Naruto said as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"**Nor will you learn it, unless you can pass what I ask of you," **the creature responded.

"Very well then," Naruto said as he quickly put on a serious composure.

"**My trial is a simple one," **the snake admitted. **"As you have already passed the hard part." **

"Already passed?" Naruto asked, somewhat confused. "What'd I do to already pass?"

"**You had enough chakra to awaken me and summon you here," **the snake answered once again. **"Also, if you did not have the chakra capacity to summon me, then the contract would immediately revoke your signature." **

"Ah…" Naruto said simply, trying to politely word what the actual trial was if he still had to do it.

"**All you have to do is answer a question, and explain your reasoning to my satisfaction." **

"Okay," Naruto said with a smile. "Bring it on!"

"**However, if you fail, then I shall devour you whole." **

The blonde gulped at the threat, even as the snake's smile grew a little.

"…I've never gone back on a challenge in my life, and I don't intend to start now!" Naruto shot back after a few long moments to compose himself. "Ask your question!"

"**Very well, Uzumaki Naruto," **the creature spoke as it unwound itself from the platform and quickly shot out and an unexpected speed, coiling around the boy in a large dome-like fashion as its head poked through the top of the dome and slid down to the blonde's level.

"**Why should I accept you as my summoner? With me, you gain unimaginable power. You may personally call on me to assist your battle, as well as a handful of my kin who still follow me. Convince me what makes you so worthy?" **

The blonde immediately began wracking his head for answers, trying to think back to the many topics he read about summoning animals. He knew too well that snakes were the contract of the greatest…well now second greatest traitor in Konoha's history, but that didn't make them any less powerful. The books, however, only mentioned the trials took place and never gave any sorts of details as to what those trials could be.

Knowing that information about summoning in particular would get him nowhere, he browsed through information he knew about snakes. In particular, how they naturally acted. Given, summoned creatures were usually more intelligent than their natural counterparts, but they still acted the same more or less.

'_Well, they shed their skin…but that doesn't really help me at all. Poison…but again, I can't really see using that as any sort of argument since I don't know anything about them. My fighting style isn't anything like a snake, so I can't really use that either…' _

'_They're predators, but they only…they only devour prey so that they can survive. That…that I can definitely use. What else? They're usually isolated, though that doesn't apply a whole lot to me anymore because of all of my friends. They're feared by a lot of people…yeah…I can use that too. That's probably a good first argument.' _

"**Well?" **The snaked asked when his head was right behind the blonde. **"I'm waiting." **

"…Snakes are often feared by a great number of people," Naruto said while eliminating any fear from his voice. "As a Jinchūriki, I am also feared by a great number of people."

"**A Jinchūriki you say?" **The creature asked with some genuine surprise in his voice, as he hadn't been able to sense it. **"Which Bijū do you contain?" **

"The Kyūbi," Naruto answered truthfully. He wasn't able to see it, but the snake's eyes widened a bit in genuine surprise once again before it settled into a neutral expression once again.

"**What you say is true," **the snake continued, completely ignoring the answer the blonde gave about his beast for the moment. **"My kin and I **_**are**_** feared by a great number of people, as I imagine people who have knowledge of you are as well. However, you are only feared for what you contain, not what you actually are." **

"I _am_ a Jinchūriki though," Naruto argued. "People hate me for what I am, just as they do you."

"**A good argument…" **the creature stated. **"However, you can easily go to another continent and blend in amongst other humans as if you were one of them. Snakes, on the other hand, will always be feared for what we are. I commend you for your logic, and understand where you come from, but it will not be enough to convince me. Anything else?"**

"What we fight for is, in essence, the same," the blonde claimed. The massive snake, who was in front of the blonde at the time, didn't even bother to contain his surprised expression. This was not the first human he had ever spoken to, but it was one of the very select few who had attempted to sign the contract and had the chakra to do so.

The reason the blonde stated intrigued him, and was the only explanation he had thought of where he would accept to be under someone's command, but only if they explained themselves properly.

"**Explain," **the creature demanded as he narrowed a blue eye at the blonde.

Showing no fear, and hoping that it would earn him some points towards not being eaten, he pulled his thoughts together before he spoke.

"Snakes, by nature, are predators. That much is true, as you are fierce creatures of nature. However, killing for the sake of killing is not your motive, nor is power or greed. Such ideas don't exist in nature. Snakes, like all other natural predators, kill for survival. You kill because you _have_ to in order to survive, or to ensure your future survival. I will kill only to be able to survive, just like you do. I have yet to kill someone, but I only fight to ensure my own survival or protect myself."

The snake slowly pushed its head closer to the blonde, leveling his eye perfectly with his own as he ensured he wasn't bluffing.

"**Words wisely chosen, especially for one as young as yourself…" **the snake stated even as it slowly began unwinding itself from its coil around the blonde. **"You are correct the way of nature is not to fight for greed, power, or just to kill. It is survival, an instinct that all living creatures share to some degree. Snakes, true snakes, kill only for one of only two reasons. Either they are feeding, or they are defending themselves. You, Uzumaki Naruto, are the first human to recognize this in my presence."**

"Does…does that mean I passed?" Naruto asked as he looked to the icy blue eye of the snake that he could see.

A deep rumble made the chamber shake as the creature laughed from his belly once again.

"**Yes, young one, you have passed." **

Naruto didn't bother to hide the huge grin that crossed his face at that moment, knowing that he couldn't hold it back even if he tried. It was just another thing he was proud of himself for, as he realized that it was something Shisui wanted him to do.

"Now that I've passed…I have 2 questions for you if you would answer them."

"**Ask away," **the purple snake said as it slithered up and coiled onto the elevated platform again.

"What's your name?" Naruto asked simply, having remembered that he had to pass to hear it.

The snake let a full smile touch his lips even as his forked tongue flicked out to taste the air absent-mindedly. It was quite pleased in its choice for a summoner if that was his first question.

"**My name, young one, is Manda. However, that name has been rather…tainted by my son. Since you are the first one to rightfully convince me to lend you my power, you may call me by something else if you wish." **

"No way," Naruto answered immediately. "Your name is unique, and it's what makes you your own…snake. Your name might be in a bad place at the moment, but we will convince everyone otherwise. I already have to convince them that I'm a good person, so we'll just convince them that you're a good snake along the way."

"**Good words, young one," **Manda stated as he rested his head upon his coiled body and stared at the blonde from his position on the platform again. **"A bit naïve, in my opinion, but good nonetheless. What is your second question?" **

"Ah…yeah…how do I get back exactly?" Naruto asked sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head once again. The snake had to stifle another chuckle as he watched the boy.

"**I reverse summoned you here, so I will simply send you back. Before you leave, know this. Only a portion of snakes are under my command, as many have chosen to follow my son instead. You will only have command of those who I control. Now, do you know the human seals for the ****Summoning Technique**** yet?" **

"I…do not," Naruto admitted.

"**Research it when you get back. Use the seals, channel chakra into your hand, and slam it down to summon either me or one of my kin. The bigger the snake you desire, the more chakra you have to channel. If you desire to summon me, it will take about half of even your absurd level of chakra." **

The blonde nodded before he bowed in front of the giant snake.

"Thank you, Manda-san," Naruto said respectfully.

"**You are welcome, Uzumaki-san," **Manda replied equally respectfully. **"Are you ready to go back?" **

"Hai," Naruto responded.

"**Very well, be sure to summon at least one of my kin once in a while to keep in touch. When the time is right…we will discuss something I might teach you one day." **

"I shall, thank you again," Naruto said with a smile as he disappeared in a poof of smoke once again.

'_**A child hated within his own village for carrying around their most hated creature also holding the summoning contract for their second-most hated creatures. It seems we will see if you really will only fight for the same purposes of nature, Uzumaki Naruto. Do not disappoint me.' **_Manda thought before he closed his eyes and proceeded to fall asleep once more.

* * *

(2 weeks after signing the snake contract)

The usually cheerful blonde walked slowly along the streets of Konoha with his hands in his pockets, ignoring the fierce glares he was getting. As it turns out, everyone was correct in presuming that things would only get harder for him.

When the Uchiha massacre was announced to the public the same day he signed the contract, people had gone ballistic. The civilian council, several people on the shinobi council, as well as the majority of citizens all called for his head. A handful called for Gaara's as well, but they were substantially lower in number. It turns out that, even though it was announced that Itachi was a traitor and Shisui was missing, it was clearly the demon's fault for corrupting 2 of the village's finest.

The only survivor of the entire ordeal, Sasuke, had even made a personal plea before the council to kill the blonde for causing the loss of his family. Whether he was pressured into saying it by a council member or not was uncertain, but he didn't really express any emotion other than cold fury towards Naruto, so it didn't really matter.

The pleas from everyone were, naturally, completely shut down by Hiruzen as well as Danzo. The Hokage obviously cared about the boy, but Danzo wasn't willing to let a possible weapon of Konoha die either. He might not have approved of Hiruzen's methods, but it was clear both Naruto and Gaara were incredibly powerful for their age. Despite what some people might think of him, the man regarded as the War Hawk of Konoha always did what he thought was best for the village, even if it meant trying to rip the eye from a loyal member of ANBU. As it was currently, he believed both Gaara and Naruto would be too much of a military asset to waste, at least by the reports he received from Hiruzen on their progress.

However, despite the announcement that nothing would befall the blonde or the red head, it didn't stop people from trying. They mostly just glared openly or talked about them when they walked in public areas. However, other villagers got a bit more radical. There were, as of now, quite a few people who were fond of tossing eggs or rotten vegetables at Naruto when he walked by now. Gaara, thankfully, was spared the treatment. Naruto just bared with it, not willing the let the villagers win for the most part. However, he had decided to walk separately to school each day from his friends as he didn't want to get them drawn into the crossfire.

The entirety of the group was, understandably, infuriated with the villagers. In particular, it was now common knowledge not to do anything to the blonde when Hinata and Anko were around him. As it turns out, you don't want 2 females that aren't afraid to get physical rather angry at you about insulting the boy one obviously had feelings for and the other considered her first friend.

The academy hadn't been much better, as they treated Naruto as a complete outcast now. Even Iruka, who was someone that had begun to treat him somewhat neutrally, pretty much completely ignored him now. Thankfully, Gaara was beginning to become rather liked within the class. It turns out he even got his own little fan club that rivaled Sasuke's. Giving off a dark and brooding vibe was apparently a good way to get one of those.

Both Gaara and Naruto were still tied for top student, as Anko and Hinata were tied for top kunoichi. Despite not having any true sparing lessons yet, the information, tests, and light physical grading was all trivial to the 4 of them. Gaara and Naruto had obviously been trained by some of the village's brightest, which made sure they were more than ready for graduation. Anko had been getting fierce training from Jin, and she was making drastic jumps in progress even though the boys didn't really know about it. Hinata, while not progressing as fast as the rest of them, also made good progress with Jin on her Taijutsu as well as with Kurenai who was now training her when she had free time. In particular, Kurenai helped her with chakra control, attempting to turn her into a Genjutsu monster much like herself as well as other fundamental aspects of a shinobi like kunai and shuriken throwing.

While Lee wasn't with them since he was a year ahead, he also got individual instruction since Naruto had recommended him to Gai. After a quick test of his abilities and motivation, he had quickly taken the boy on. Though the man was a bit odd, it was likely the best thing the blonde could've ever done for his friend. After all, if anyone could teach someone how to become an amazing shinobi regardless of not using chakra, it would be Might Gai.

However, despite blonde's vast knowledge about the class material, it was clear that Mizuki tried to purposely knock the blonde off of his pedestal with Gaara. In particular, he would try to do this by giving him tests with a Genjutsu over them or trying to teach him the wrong way to throw a punch before Iruka would grade him on it at the end of the week. Yeah, good luck fooling someone who was trained by Itachi and Shisui. Silly Chunin instructor.

He would just play along with Mizuki's game before completely thwarting it and getting perfect marks, endlessly infuriating the man. However, it wasn't like he could do anything about it since he would have to call himself out on trying to crash the blonde's chances to point out just how strong he was.

A full week progressed with them getting accustomed to everything like this. Hinata and Anko came over a few nights a week to his apartment, just trying to spend time with him to cheer him up since he was obviously a bit down in the dumps. Although it never really did, he allowed it because he simply enjoyed having them around.

Lee joined them once as well within the week since Gai kept him too exhausted to join more often, but he tried to cheer him up as well. He had tried the whole "flames of youth" routine, but he quickly realized to act normal around them when Hinata and Anko beat him into a subdued state with a frying pan that had come out of nowhere. Gaara joined sometimes as well, though he usually went to meditate or do individual training instead. It was his way of coping with everything that had happened.

At the end of a week, the blonde made the plunge and opened the scroll that Hiruzen had given him. It was as hard-hitting as he thought it would be, and he hadn't even opened the door to anyone for a full day. Inside were personal messages from both his mother and his father from right before the night the Kyūbi attacked. Apparently there had been a risk of it escaping during Kushina's labor, so they had written the letters in advance just in case. They spoke of their love and hope for him, along with telling him about their history along with the history of their clans. It wasn't much, as it was clear they had intended to survive past it, but it was something from his parents at the very least.

After crying for hours on end about those, he had dug into the rest of the massive sealing scroll, finding several things he took interest in. Particularly, Uzumaki clan books on their sealing, Namikaze clan books on the same art, and even personal journals from both of them about work they had done. He also found their full wardrobe which the Sandaime had ensured to seal within the scroll to prevent any robbery, as well as his mother's small amount of jewelry. Their ninja gear was also included in a separate seal within the scroll, though he didn't fit into any of it just yet.

Perhaps the most noticeable thing that wasn't of sentimental value, however, was the final seal within the large scroll. Inside were 4 things, but they were 4 very unique and powerful things. The first, which was by far the least powerful, was the cloak of the Yondaime. It had a giant hole in it, but Naruto wasn't sure why. He could only assume that it was due to something that happened the night of his birth.

Second were 2 vials of blood. They had taken care to ensure some of their blood was preserved so that their son could be identified if something _did_ happen to them. As such, it was incredibly important and valuable.

Third was a journal, and one that almost any knowledgeable shinobi in the world would slaughter for to get their hands on. The journal contained the personal jutsu and notes about said jutsu of the Yondaime. Flipping through it, it was mostly notes about the Hiraishin and Rasengan. There were a few other techniques listed, but they were mostly failures that he said had not chance of working in the long run for various reasons.

Finally, there was a large box. Inside said box were hundreds of tri-pronged kunai with blank handles. The blonde had recognized the unique shape immediately, not dense enough to not know what they were used for. However, the fact that the handles were blank did catch him somewhat off-guard. However, after flipping through his personal journal again, he understood that he would have to create his own seal for the Hiraishin to work with him. Despite what everyone thought, it was not a jutsu that could simply be copied. Individual chakra signature, blood type, and cellular structure had to be taken into consideration. It was a seal design that would take a lot of work to use properly, at least from the stuff he could actually read. There was a lot of jargon about sealing that he didn't fully understand yet, so he was skimming that more than anything.

He resealed most of the stuff away for later use in his secret spot under his bed. However, he ensured to have a shadow clone constantly reading through the book about the Rasengan and Hiraishin.

The day after reading that, the blonde had gone out and used a good chunk of cash that Shisui had left him in a pouch in the hiding spot to purchase a hefty amount of sealing supplies. Regardless of the villagers hating him, the shinobi stores knew better than to turn away a paying customer, and they wouldn't care price gouge someone who spoke to the Hokage on a regular basis. Throughout the next week, he dedicated himself heavily to sealing, mostly using shadow clones to do the work so he would learn it faster. After all, he would gain all of the knowledge and experience of creating seals, so there was no harm done.

Despite doing this, he had hopped back into training heavily that week as well. Like Gaara, he decided to try to use that to keep his mind off of things when he wasn't at the academy. He didn't make any significant progress other than pushing his weights up another 25 pounds each, but it was still progress at the very least.

Hinata and Anko made sure to stop by a few more times that week, but he usually just chatted with them for a while about training before they left. However, he had to admit that Hinata's cooking was amazing. So good, in fact, that he praised it for half an hour. Still ignorant to the truth of things, he never noticed the gloating face the blue-haired girl had on nor the _slightly _jealous glare Anko shot towards her.

Another week passed after that, which is where we currently find the blonde who was still walking down the road with his hands down his pockets. Today…would be interesting. In particular, it would be interesting for 2 reasons. First, today was the day that Sasuke would return to the academy after his leave. Second, it was also the first day that any sparring would occur. Suffice it to say, the blonde sighed knowing he would have to hold back from whoever he fought rather substantially.

As the blonde neared the academy, he absent-mindedly dodged the hail of eggs and rotten vegetables thrown at him. Simply channeling a small amount of chakra towards the ears can do wonderful things for sensing when objects are hurled at you as it turns out.

He absent-mindedly entered the academy grounds, stepping into the building and moving quickly to his classroom as he slid the door open just as the bell rang. He stepped inside without a word and shut the door, completely ignoring the glare he was getting from a now-brooding avenger as he walked up the slight incline and took his normal seat between Anko and Hinata.

"Alright class!" Iruka shouted from the front of the room. "As we told you yesterday, today will be the first time we allow sanctioned sparring. Keep in mind that these aren't supposed to be deadly fights, but merely help you get a bit of practice in combat. Together, Mizuki and I have gotten a general idea of how strong we expect you to be. So, as a result, we've already set the matches for today. Let's make our way outside and we'll get started!"

"This is gonna suck," Naruto said with a groan as he stood up and moved to the door behind Anko and in front of Hinata.

"Why's that, Naruto?" Anko asked as she tilted her backwards to see him and walked forward without hesitation in a good display of confidence and flexibility.

"Holding back," the blonde answered plainly. "That's what's going to suck."

"Well," Hinata stated from behind him, "you can always just think of this as a way to see how strong you really are."

"True, I guess," Naruto stated with a smile that Hinata couldn't see. "I'll keep that in mind, thanks Hinata-chan. You and Anko-chan always manage to find a way to cheer me up."

* * *

Once everyone had made their way outside, the students assembled into a large ring around the dirt circle that showed the sparring area. Many of them looked around, seeing a good amount of parents and clan representatives around the arena. The first day of sparring was one of the few days that parents usually showed up to watch how things went, as it was a good representation of how strong the class would be.

"This'll take a while to get through all of you," Iruka admitted. "So let's go ahead and get started!"

"I hope you're ready to get destroyed, trash," came a male voice from a ways off to the blonde's right side. Glancing over, he saw the "last Uchiha" in all his glory as he was trying to kill him through glaring at him.

"I doubt I'll even be fighting you, Sasuke," Naruto stated as he tried to be a bit polite to the boy. He had lost a lot after all, so it was somewhat expected that he vent on some people. The least he could do to Itachi was _try_ to be nice to his brother.

"Oh, we'll be fighting. I made sure of it," Sasuke stated with a small grin touching the corner of his lips. He didn't even flinch under the intense glare that the girls on Naruto's sides were sending him.

"You are an idiot for making such an arrangement," came a voice from Naruto's left who he quickly recognized as Gaara. "I hope your pride can stand a hit or two."

Naruto winced a bit at how harsh that sounded, but knew that the red head was right in the long run. However, Sasuke just let out a small laugh.

"Don't worry, after I finish with the blonde I'll be coming for you too. It's always best to take out all the trash at once, after all." After he finished, he simply turned his head towards the 2 nameless boys who were now fighting one another in a pitiful display of Taijutsu in the center of the ring. It was clear that he wouldn't respond to anyone even if they tried.

"Idiot," Naruto whispered, causing both of the girls next to him to nod in agreement.

(Insert all of the shitty, nameless students' fights here)

"Next up, let's go ahead and have Kiba step into the ring!" Iruka called with a smile. "Since we've addressed you as being the best in the academy at Taijutsu, you'll be going 1 on 1 with me."

Gaara, Naruto, Anko, and Hinata all scoffed silently at the assumption. Everyone knew that all of them were easily better than Kiba. Even Sasuke, Sir Broodsalot, was more skilled than Kiba. In all likelihood, it was likely Mizuki influencing the fight options.

"That's my boy!" Tsume yelled from the side of the gates, getting a bark of approval from her canine companion. Several other Inuzuka that were watching let out a small cheer even as Kiba grinned and rushed forward to engage Iruka who had just given the sign to start.

The fight ended dully, with no real action having been done. Kiba was above standard academy level, but he wasn't even near Genin level yet. Iruka had been forced to block, but hadn't struck back at all. It was, by the blonde's standards, pathetic. At the very least, the instructor in that situation should've thrown back some slow swings or tried to throw him off-balance. Doing nothing in terms of offense would hurt the kid more than help him.

"Good job Kiba!" Iruka said with normal breath as he took his clipboard and marked down "above average" for the young boy. It was an accurate assessment even if he hadn't tested him to the blonde's liking.

"Next, let's have…Ino and Sakura," Iruka called.

"Oh dear Kami," Naruto said softly as he heard the two of them begin to scream at one another over Sasuke. "Wake me up when this joke is over." He heard giggles from either side of him and smiled softly, happy to have made them laugh even if it was just slightly.

"Agreed," Anko said after her giggling had subsided. "They're both terrible."

"Indeed," Hinata added. Even without proper training for quite some time, she knew she was stronger than both of those 2 fan girls. They didn't take things seriously, and only wanted to be kunoichi to be rescued by Sasuke or another guy one day. While the blue-haired girl certainly wouldn't mind being rescued by a certain spikey-haired blonde, it wasn't her main priority.

The fight ended, predictably, when the two of them couldn't go on any longer. Their speed, strength, and endurance were all pathetic even to the point where even Iruka marked "below average" on the clipboard.

"Temari versus Kankurō!" Iruka shouted, prompting both of the sand siblings to move into the dirt sparring ring. Despite being isolated in Konoha, it was clear that their father kept in touch based on their Suna-style clothing choices. Temari was currently wearing a light purple off-the-shoulder style sleeved top that stopped at the back of her knees that was tied together with a red sash. She also had a bit of mesh around the lower portion of her right leg and the upper portion of her left one along with a pair of black sandals.

Kankuro, meanwhile, wore a black and baggy body suit. The suit even had an optional hood, though he elected to have that down more often than not. He had also taken to wearing face-paint, which many of the students within the academy had berated him for. All in all, they both seemed to be rather serious-looking shinobi.

The match itself, however, was rather disappointing. With each of the siblings being forced into Taijutsu, it quickly became clear that Temari had a very slight advantage over the boy. In honesty, it was only likely due to the added strength and speed she gained from usually having to drag her heavy fan around all day.

"Good," Iruka said with a smile as he marked down that they were of average level on the clipboard. Neither of them actually _focused_ on Taijutsu after all.

"Choji and Shikamaru!" Iruka called with a smile, already having a hunch as to what was going to happen.

"Ehhh, I surrender," Shikamaru called out after giving his friend a glance. It was clear Choji didn't want to fight, and he wasn't about to go out of his way to force him to do it anyway. All of that was far too troublesome.

The scarred Chunin let out a sigh of disappointment, but marked down the match in Choji's favor even as he heard the boy walk over to thank his future shadow-wielding friend.

"Shino versus Gaara," Iruka called after a few moments.

At this, both Gaara and Naruto's eyebrows perked a bit. An interesting match, all things considered. Both long-ranged fighters who likely weren't focusing on Taijutsu in favor of working with long-range techniques. Overall, a good match-up decision by the instructors. Well, at least it _should_ have been.

Shino walked into the sparring circle wearing a typical high-collared coat of the Aburame clan, covering his mouth. Gaara walked in wearing simple black clothing after having put his gourd on the ground and deactivating his sand shield. Today, he was wearing a long-sleeved and skin-tight black shirt along with matching black pants and full-fingered gloves.

Basically, he was fueling his fan clubs more perverted dreams for the next few weeks.

"Begin!" Iruka called, somewhat surprised by how fast Gaara jettisoned forward afterwards. Shino was prepared, however, and lowered himself into a defensive stance as he arrived. The red head began by throwing a simple right hook, which Shino put up his arms to block. A bit of a mistake, but it wasn't like he could expect it.

The moment Shino put his arms up to block, Gaara smashed into them with his fist. Though he couldn't see it, the bug-wielders mouth dropped in a silent scream of pain as he felt like he was being smashed by a hammer instead of a fist. He lashed out with a somewhat-sloppy kick afterwards, making the sand user jump back a bit for space.

Absent-mindedly afterwards, he rubbed his arm to try to dull the pain he felt. Though by no means broken, there would likely be a rather nasty bruise there later. Knowing that some of his clansmen were here, however, he wasn't about to forfeit just from a bruise. He settled back into his stance, earning a small smile from Gaara as a result before he charged back in.

This time, the red head was far more ruthless. He feinted with another right hook, which Shino unfortunately fell for. The second he closed his sight by throwing his arms in front of his face, Gaara dropped down and shot a fist straight into his gut. Though it was a bit more cushioned, the brief wheeze that came out of him and saliva that came out of his mouth showed just how hard the blow had impacted.

Gaara just stood there, but he removed his fist from the boy's gut and moved it to support his shoulders, as it was clear who the victor in this fight would be now.

"You okay?"

"That is…debatable…Gaara-san," Shino coughed out after a few moments to catch his breath. "I…I forfeit."

Iruka nodded, having been rather impressed by the red head's show of power. Shino was by no means strong in Taijutsu, but Gaara had just shown that he was incredibly capable. He also smiled at seeing him help Shino out of the ring, knowing that those two at least respected one another.

"Anko versus Hinata!" Iruka called with another genuine smile, curious to see how this would go.

"Good luck girls," Naruto said with a glance to both of them.

"Time for you to go down, princess!" Anko called with a bit of an evil grin on her face as she stared at her best friend on the other side of the blonde.

"Bring it on!" Hinata said with fire in her eyes.

The fire might not have been there as fiercely as it was…if Anko hadn't brought up the fact that it would be a good chance to impress Naruto with her skills today. Despite still being rather young, it was clear that the girl was crushing rather hard on the boy. Truth be told, she had a very _mild_ one of her own, but she wasn't about to come out and say that out loud.

"Begin!" Iruka called, causing both girls to jump forward with rather intense speeds compared to most academy students.

The fight was rather beautiful, if a bit boring. In essence, it was a standard Hyūga fight that had a bit more fluidity and moving around. The snake style relied on similar knife-like strikes, but they tried to pinch groups of nerves instead of aiming for tenketsu. They were both incredibly flexible and skilled, so it made for what almost could classify as a dance of sorts.

However, in the end, Anko was the one with more experience in the Taijutsu style. Despite Hinata giving it her all and doing incredibly well by pinching off a few nerves on her opponent, Anko eventually triumphed after rendering both of her arms all-but-useless and making her stand on shaky legs.

"It's over," Iruka announced with an impressed look on his face. "Anko wins, but you are both incredible!"

Hinata got a bit of a saddened look on her face at the match being called, but reluctantly nodded her head. It was clear who the victor was in the long run, and she would've been doing nothing but getting herself injured further. She was about to hobble over to the side of the sparring ring when she suddenly started to fall, not having expected her leg to give out from underneath her when she put weight on it.

However, instead of hitting the hard earth, she felt herself be caught by a firm arm in front of her that pushed her gently back up into a standing position. When she looked to the side, she spotted a familiar mop of blonde hair.

"That _was_ amazing!" Naruto said with a sincere smile towards the lavender-eyed girl. "You're both awesome!"

"Thanks!" Anko said with a grin of her own, somewhat happy that she had been praised by him.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun," Hinata said a bit more timidly as a blush crossed her cheeks from the close contact.

"Anko, can you help her?" The blonde asked, feeling just how much she was having to lean against him to stay upright. He would've gladly done it himself, but his match was obviously going to be next.

"Sure," the girl said with a smile as she wrapped her best friend's arm around her shoulders. "Come on Hinata."

After the two of them were safely to the side, he carefully peeled his gloves off of each hand as Iruka announced the match and Sasuke began to walk into the ring. He glanced around, catching familiar red hair as he tossed his gloves towards him. Wordlessly, Gaara caught them and got the message.

'_Hold my gloves so I don't kill this idiot.' _His Taijutsu would probably be overkill as it was, even weighted down. Adding a metal plate into the mix over his knuckles would likely cripple the Uchiha even if he didn't really try to.

"Go Sasuke-kuuuun!" Sakura shouted from the sidelines, having already recovered from her match.

"Yeah, show him who the best around here is!" Ino shouted, trying to equal the support that Sakura shouted. Naturally, all of the Uchiha's fan girls followed suit. Even before the massacre, he had been rather popular among them. Surviving through that and still being somewhat normal made him that much more attractive to them.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. "It seems like everyone wants me to take out trash like you and your friends."

The blonde's eye twitched in obvious anger. He could take insults any day of the week, but addressing all of his friends like that wasn't something he was prepared to take. On top of that, it was clear that the kid needed a wakeup call.

"Begin!" Iruka called, having seen the two boys were in place.

Naruto immediately disappeared, leaving Sasuke rather wide-eyed at what happened.

"Dead," Naruto whispered darkly from behind him as he poked a finger into a place he could easily stab to puncture a lung. Sasuke immediately turned and swung…only to find that the blonde wasn't there.

Suddenly, the Uchiha felt a finger dragged across his throat from behind again.

"Dead," Naruto whispered once again. Letting out a roar, he turned around even quicker and swung. The blonde remained in the same position, but merely leaned under the obvious haymaker swing. Sasuke then tried a barrage of fists in his fury at being mocked, but his rage only increased as they were all dodged.

"Dammit, fight me already!" He shouted, still enraged. He was being _toyed_ with, and Naruto was someone he saw himself as being able to surpass easily. He had to. If he couldn't be better than someone his brother taught, then how was he supposed to ever get revenge?

Without responding verbally to the Uchiha's demand, Naruto simply reared back a fist and shot it forward even as Sasuke's own tried to jet forward once again. They met with a solid _crack_ within the middle of the ring, though no one knew why. Well, no one knew why until Sasuke started crying out in pain as he gripped his wrist fiercely anyway.

"This fight is done," Naruto announced as he let out a sigh at letting himself go so far. "His wrist is probably shattered, and he'll need medical treatment."

Iruka glared at the boy who he still viewed as the demon who killed his parents, but nodded in agreement. From the sound of those screams, it was quite clear that Sasuke was in a good deal of pain.

"Mizuki, please take Sasuke to the hospital," Iruka said even as his assistant nodded and moved to the boy. With a glare at the "demon child" he quickly rushed off towards the hospital with the Uchiha in his arms.

Sasuke's fan girls were, of course, leveling glares of fury at the blonde even as he walked off towards the red head who was giving him a somewhat questioning look as he tossed him his gloves back.

"Didn't you say _not_ to go overboard?" Gaara asked.

"He needed a wake-up call," Naruto said with a bit of sadness evident in his voice as he pulled on his gloves. "I don't know exactly what happened, but it's clear he has some issues with us now."

The red head simply nodded, getting that much from the way he had acted earlier.

'_Itachi-sensei'_ Naruto thought as he closed his eyes. _'I hope you didn't push your brother over the edge with whatever you did.'_

* * *

**Done**

**Yes the snake is an OC as far as I know, and yes it's cannon Manda's father. The name was just passed down from father to son. Confusing as all hell, but I'll work it out somehow. For clarifi**

**My apologies if the description of spars felt a bit lack-luster to anyone. However, aside from Gaara, Naruto, Anko, and Hinata, none of the students really fight all that well yet. It would be kind of silly if they did. **

**I really wanted to describe Anko and Hinata's fight in a bit more detail as well, but I found it incredibly difficult to do so. I really do picture Snake style Taijutsu to be incredibly similar to Gentle Fist. Watching a fight between two users like that is just...well...boring to say the least. It's somewhat like commentating a NASCAR race. (No offense to anyone who enjoys it.) **

**As usual, hope you enjoyed the read. See you all next chapter. **


	15. A Hidden Snake

Chapter 15: A Hidden Snake

(2 years later; Naruto age: 11)

* * *

The years, in hindsight, had been somewhat neutral to the blonde and his friends. Lee, Hinata, and Anko all continued with their individual training, with the exception of Hinata sometimes joining her roommate to practice Taijutsu with Jin.

Gaara and Naruto, similarly, had been pushing forward drastically with their own training. Despite the loss of Itachi and Shisui, they used the combination of the notes that were left to them along with Gai's occasional input as to how to better themselves even more.

Gai had, in all honesty, been the only Jonin willing to give them any sort of help. Apparently the Sandaime had asked several individuals, but none of them wanted to risk having their teachings backfire on them after what happened with Itachi.

Despite the fact that Gai was willing to help them, however, there really wasn't a whole lot he could help them with. He was a Taijutsu expert in every sense of the word, so he really only knew the basics along with his summoning. However, he did help to drastically improve the Taijutsu of the two boys. However, he only made a stop by the training field for an hour or two one day out of the week, as the rest of his time was spent training Lee.

Speaking of Taijutsu, however, that leads to the biggest change in either of the boys.

True to his word, Naruto had summoned smaller snakes to him on occasion, and had even began going on visits to see Manda once again by using the **Reverse Summoning Technique**. After a few visits, the eldest of the snake summons had offered to teach him the fighting style that was based off of the creatures themselves. Naturally, the blonde wasn't about to turn down such a prestigious offer from such a powerful creature.

Thus, Naruto had incorporated elements of the Snake Taijutsu style into his true fighting form. Gōken was used if he could simply overpower or overwhelm the opponent with his physical capabilities, while Snake style was used for more skill-based fights or just for practicing. The only people who knew of his Taijutsu capabilities, however, was Gaara, Gai, and Hiruzen. He kept the information away from Hinata and Anko, not wanting them to think he was somehow copying them or make them feel as if their training wasn't going fast enough.

Gaara's own Taijutsu had obviously improved to a drastic extent thanks to his Sharingan eyes. Even when they weren't activated, the dormant state of them allowed him to track movement slightly easier and with more clarity, allowing a smoother flow to his attacks. Despite the trust they had in the Green Beast of Konoha, they weren't about to reveal the secrets of their eyes.

The astonishing part about it was that both of them could stand on-par with Gai in his specialized field, if not defeat him outright. Gaara, of course, would end up having to result to using his sand if the man opened any of the gates. However, the blonde jinchūriki had no problem keeping up with the man in a straight up fist fight. One of the benefits of Gōken in and of itself is eventually building up the body tolerance to handle the opening of the gates, and he was no exception to that rule.

In terms of their other training, there had been substantial progress.

First of all, they had both become accustomed to the use of their Sharingan, and even managed to learn a technique or two. Naruto, having Itachi's right eye, had been able to wield Amaterasu to a good extent. However, he had never used it on a person due to its destructive nature. Gaara, having Itachi's left eye, had the capability to use Tsukuyomi if his chakra control was ever good enough. Thanks to having 2 Mangekyo, even though they were from different donors, they were also able to awaken Susanoo, though it still needed a bit more work. As it was, they could only use the basic versions of it to its fullest.

They were still both rather big failures in Genjutsu, there was no getting around that fact. Even with one of Shisui's eyes, which according to his journals would enable them to cast the ultimate Genjutsu-like technique, they simply couldn't grasp it. Despite their intense chakra control training, their chakra nature in and of itself was just too potent. Perhaps if they dedicated more years to the practice they could get somewhere, but it would take a drastically long time.

However, their defense against Genjutsu had improved marvelously. Again, even while dormant, the Sharingan eye helped them spot illusion techniques from a good distance away. Thanks to having Hinata's tutor Kurenai come in to test some of the techniques on them one day, they knew that they could effectively break any rank of Genjutsu that was cast on them, at least that they knew of.

Naturally, knowing of the tenants within the two boys, Kurenai had just brushed it off as the bijū being able to interrupt the flow of chakra for them. She didn't even recognize that they were breaking it of their own volition, without their partners interfering. Rather than point that out though, it was probably best that she remained ignorant for the time being.

Ninjutsu, however, was pretty much the polar opposite for the two of them. While their chakra proved to be too potent to use Genjutsu effectively, even the simplest Ninjutsu techniques could become deadly in their hands now.

Their chakra control and capacities had both improved dramatically as their bodies grew, resulting in almost-mastery of their respective element of choice. Gaara, naturally, chose to work with his sand over perfecting his mastery of Earth of Wind individually. The blonde, on the other hand, worked on the lightning element that he was gifted with.

While not quite as versatile as sand could be at times, his elemental jutsu had improved drastically. He had even created a few original techniques by this point. However, running lightning through his nervous system like before still had the occasional drawbacks. It was by far the most powerful technique to date, but it required a constant drain on his reserves and usually left him in a bit of pain for a few days even with his regenerative capabilities.

Of course, lightning wasn't the only thing he worked on.

He had mastered his father's version of the Rasengan, though it took a bit longer than expected without any real training steps. He had tried to add elemental manipulation to the technique as his father stated was theoretically possible, but to the current date he hadn't made any significant progress with it. Adding lightning to the technique usually destroyed the clone he was having trying to work with him to create it, resulting in the chakra going out of control and self-destructing. He still didn't know how to get around that just yet.

He had also tried to work on sealing, particularly working towards understanding the Hiraishin. He was proud of the fact that he could rightfully call himself a level 5 seal master now, but it still wasn't enough to understand all of the related jargon that his father used within his journal on the technique. He was confident he could get it eventually, it just hadn't happened yet.

Finally, he had also worked on developing a familiar intimacy with Shisui's katana that he had left him. While he truthfully felt as if he could fight with it as an extension of his body, he didn't really go much further with it. Truth be told, it just wasn't his ideal way of fighting, and he couldn't currently carry around the weapon until he was legally a Genin anyway

Their abilities weren't the only things that really changed, however. 2 years usually causes a bit of a change to someone's appearance, after all.

Gaara stood at approximately 5'0, dwarfing almost everyone his own age. He had kept his same hair style, though he let it grow down just a bit, but still not enough to really impede his eyesight in any fashion nor did it drop much further than his neck from behind.

He wore typical ANBU leggings, with a white wrap on his left leg where he kept a kunai pouch just in case. However, this was mostly rendered useless by a black, long-sleeved coat that dropped down to just above his ankles. It had no zipper or buttons to close itself, so he improvised by strapping on his grey ANBU armor over the top of it on his chest. This resulted in the coat being closed until his waist, where it could then be easily accessed. Along with this, he had his large gourd strapped to his back in the usual fashion, his black, fingered gloves, and a pair of black combat boots.

Naruto, meanwhile, had a bit of a change as well.

His colors never really changed, truth be told. He dawned black ANBU-style pants and a new style of tight, black, long-sleeved shirts. He wore mesh leggings underneath the ANBU pants, and also wore grey shin-guards on the outside of them. He also dawned the familiar ANBU armor chest piece, similar to his fellow jinchūriki. He also accompanies the look with his fingerless black gloves that had the knuckles padded with metal and black combat boots. However, he also had from his wrists to just below his elbows wrapped in white bandages. Not an aesthetic choice, merely a combat-savvy one so that he could perform the primary lotus if needed.

There were, of course, complaints about them running around dressed like ANBU. However, it wasn't against the law by any stretch. Frowned upon, maybe, but not illegal. The armor was completely legal to wear in public, so long as they didn't actually impersonate ANBU personnel. Since the two left their masks at home, no one could accuse them of impersonating an agent.

Despite all of those changes, however, the satisfaction had been somewhat reduced by the change within villager's personalities.

While they had tolerated the blonde before with occasional harassment, it had gotten drastically worse over the years. Hate-mobs, refusal to serve goods, assassination attempts, and a plethora of other negatives had been thrown at him now. Gaara also received some of this, though it was still to a lesser extent than the blonde.

Anko, Hinata, and Lee, at least, hadn't been effected by it too much. There were now a handful of villagers who gave them grief for being friends with demons, and even a few shops who refused them business, but they were mostly left alone. Thankfully, those that did give them too much grief were quickly…dissuaded if they got a bit too aggressive. It turns out that pissing off two women who could irritate nerve clusters wasn't exactly the best idea. Who would've thought? Lee wasn't bothered simply because Gai accompanied him most of the time, and no one in town was willing to anger a Jonin by mistreating someone that was publicly recognized as his apprentice.

The academy, meanwhile, was still a place of constant frustration for the blonde. After the spar with Sasuke, he had actually been forbidden from sparring any of the other students. As it was, he still easily tied for first with Gaara. Hinata and Anko were both tied for what was technically third place, and Sasuke technically sat as fifth within the class rankings.

Of course, the material that was covered within the academy was a joke for the four friends, even if everyone else took it moderately seriously. Naruto and Gaara had simply read about everything covered either in their new free time or with books Itachi and Shisui had provided for them before they were both forced away. Hinata and Anko simply found most of the knowledge redundant, as history wasn't really going to affect what happened in the field very much.

The _only_ good thing that came of it was that they were all able to spend time together, and Gaara was also able to chat with his siblings. Iruka still had obvious distaste for the blonde, but he at least treated him neutrally. Mizuki, on the other hand, continued to attempt to blatantly lower his grades. It never worked of course, but the fact that he tried was still irritating.

* * *

"You alright?" A voice on the blonde's left asked, causing his eyes to slowly open from the somewhat-relaxed position they were in before.

"I'm fine, Gaara," he replied before stifling a small yawn and repositioned himself in the tree he was in. "Anything weird happen while I was out of it?"

The red head just shook his head.

"No, he's a bit odd, but nothing unusual so far."

The blonde let out a sigh before he turned back to the scene that was a good distance away from them. As it turns out, despite his seemingly good intentions, Jin wasn't trusted by the Hokage.

As they were informed of a few days ago, there were a few seemingly legitimate reasons for this. First, he actually had a mastery of the snake style. The only one who had that, previous to Naruto signing his secret contract, had been Orochimaru. While it's quite plausible that someone else could have learned it, it's still quite suspicious.

Secondly, the man could actually summon snakes, and even let Anko sign a contract that he had. The _only_ other snake contract in the world was one that Orochimaru had received himself at a point in the past where he was still loyal to Konoha. Couple that with knowing the snake style, and you definitely have merit for occasionally looking in on his activities.

The final straw, it seemed, was when Hiruzen had used his crystal ball to spy on the man during a training session with the two girls he supervised. While not provable, Hiruzen could have sworn he spotted a flash of yellow run through the man's eyes. A suspiciously colored yellow that vividly reminded him of the eyes of his old student.

However, the old man wasn't stupid either. His ANBU agents, as they were, would stand no chance if it was actually the traitor in disguise. Plus, he had them covering other things right now. Most were out on S-rank missions, and a handful were keeping tabs on an old teammate of his. Honestly, he didn't really have much man power to spare.

Despite not having been in the actual field yet, the reports from Gai had led him to believe there were only 2 people within the village that might stand a chance if confronted. Hence, we find the two boys overlooking Hinata and Anko's training with the man.

Regardless of their extraordinary stealth skills for their age, however, Orochimaru had not been around this long without proving his remarkable shinobi skills and instincts time and time again.

* * *

'_It would seem the old monkey is finally catching on…' _Orochimaru thought as he shot a glance towards where the two boys were hidden with a maniacal grin as he continued to spar who he now knew was his daughter, though still leaving her in blissful ignorance for the time being. _'Kukuku…I guess it's time then.' _

Without warning, while he and Anko were continuing a usual Snake-style spar, he knocked her away a bit more fiercely than usual. Then, tapping into powers he hadn't used for a few years, he stretched his neck to an inhuman length and bit down on her neck, eliciting a scream of agony from the girl. She could have normally dodged something of that speed, but it had caught her completely off-guard.

Hinata, meanwhile, was staring in shock and horror from the position she was resting in not too far away. She began to shake slightly, as the man's fangs quickly unlatched from Anko and swung towards her.

The neck was still stretched out to sickening lengths, almost as if it were an abomination of nature. The white-eyed girl looked on in horror as she saw a faint glint of light shine off of his mildly elongated fangs, Anko's blood still dripping down them. While she was no longer the weak girl she would have been without emotional support, she was still far too scared in this situation to do anything other than watch in horror as a single image passed through her mind.

'_Naruto-kun…' _

Her eyes snapped open after a moment, however, as she heard a murderous cry of rage and saw a blur shoot into the man she had regarded as one of her sensei. Taking a closer look as the two of them momentarily slowed, she saw that the blonde had appeared as if thinking of him had brought her savior just in time.

* * *

"Get them out of here Gaara!" Naruto shouted, not daring to take his eyes off of the traitorous Sannin. He wasn't aware if the man had any partners or not, so he wasn't about to risk merely letting a Shadow Clone take care of the issue.

He heard the red head who had just landed next to him grind his teeth a bit, obviously not liking the idea of leaving him along with one of the Sannin. However, he eventually nodded as he moved towards the two girls just as Anko let out a scream of pain and a black symbol that would become all too familiar in the coming years developed on the nape of her neck.

"B-but!" Hinata began to shout before Gaara made an Earth clone and had it pick her up, not leaving her any time to protest. He picked Anko up himself, trying to be particularly careful with her since she was still writhing in pain. Without a word towards the blonde, deciding he just needed to hurry instead, he used a Shunshin to begin taking himself as close to Konoha as possible.

"Kukuku…" Orochimaru said as he let his usually hidden and elongated tongue run over his lips. "You are fast for being so young…Naruto."

Gritting his teeth at knowing the man had some sort of information on him, Naruto forced himself into a state of calm as he tried to think the situation through.

'_He's going to be faster than me unless I drop the weights at the very least. I'll probably have to use my lightning armor or open a gate to keep up. I'll have to save something for a trump card, or his experience is just going to demolish me. I'm definitely going to have to watch out for his snake techniques as well…thankfully I have a good counter to those.' _

As he was thinking, Orochimaru was actually becoming rather intrigued. He had heard that the blonde as well as his red headed friend had undergone some special training, but he wasn't expecting this. Not only had the boy been fast enough to prevent _him_ of all people from getting to a target, but he was also standing up to the increasing killing intent he was releasing without even breaking a sweat.

'_Interesting…' _the snake Sannin thought with a wicked grin. _'__**Very **__interesting. Thankfully Konoha is so far away from here, I might actually get time to test him properly.' _

Naruto slapped his hand over his chest, drawing the eyes of the Sannin as they narrowed in thought as to what he could be doing.

"Kai!" Naruto shouted, immediately feeling the weights on his body revert to nothing. Over the years, his weights had obviously increased. Each arm weight now usually held 300 pounds, where he was currently maxed out with his body. Each leg held 400 pounds, where he was also maxed out. While these were on, he had to constantly channel chakra to each limb to be able to function normally. Overall, he just dropped 1,400 pounds of total weight off of his body. Suffice it to say, the traitor might be in for a bit of a surprise.

Seeing the blonde disappear from sight momentarily, and catching him moving faster than anyone he had previously thought, Orochimaru quickly substituted himself with a nearby log just as the jinchūriki smashed into the ground and left a crater that Tsunade herself would be proud of.

Eyes narrowing now, giving the child in front of him a bit more seriousness, the snake immediately withdrew Kusanagi from his throat in a sickening display.

'_A typical Genin…what in the fuck have you been getting for information Zetsu' _Orochimaru thought as he scanned the area for sight of his opponent. It was only through sheer instinct that he rolled out of the way just before a significant portion of the tree trunk behind him was taken out with a kick from the blonde.

"Tch!" Naruto grunted as he quickly leapt at the traitor again, a fierce scowl on his face as he thought about the scream Anko had let out before she left.

Orochimaru, spotting his temporary distraction, took no mercy and extended Kusanagi and managed to graze the boy on the shoulder as he dodged out of the way at the last moment.

"Kukuku…it's over," he stated with a grin as the blonde launched himself onto a nearby tree and stuck to it with chakra. "No one survives the poison of Kusanagi."

"I'll just make sure to take you down with me then," Naruto said plainly, not certain whether or not his increased healing capabilities would burn through such a powerful poison.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!**" Naruto shouted, creating 5 clones around him who wordlessly charged the snake Sannin in front of them.

Orochimaru simply smirked, performing a sweeping arc as he tried to take out all of the clones at once. However, his smirk was wiped off of his face as he heard a loud _clang_ noise echo throughout the trees.

The man looked towards the first clone he tried to cut through, and scowled as he saw that he had managed to hold off his sword with a mere kunai. Given, moments later the kunai snapped and the clone shortly followed, but it was still enough to save the other four.

"**Striking Shadow Snakes!**" Orochimaru shouted, shooting a plethora of venomous snakes towards the clones. This time, it was Naruto's turn to smirk.

"**Striking Shadow Snakes!**" He countered in a cocky tone, making the Sannin's eyes widen at the fact that someone other than he and his apprentices could do that techniques. The snakes immediately neutralized each other, but the other clones hadn't been sitting around doing nothing.

As Orochimaru's initial shock wore off, he was forced to duck as a clone appeared directly in front of him, attempting to kick him in the face.

"**Konoha Senpu!**" He shouted as he missed the spinning kick, taking out a portion of the tree behind him with the force of the blow. However, before he could land, he was cut through with the legendary sword the man was wielding.

"**Electric Murder!**" Another clones shouted, using a variation he had created of a technique that was originally supposed to travel through earth. In essence, the only thing he did was eliminate the required medium from the technique and shot it straight at an opponent instead.

"**Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!**" Orochimaru countered, completely negating the lightning technique and sending the clone flying into a nearby tree with enough force to it to pop.

Afterwards, however, he was forced to let out a small groan as an unknown force struck him in the chin. He glanced down for a moment and saw the familiar figure of the blonde before he flicked out of existence…only for him to feel bandages beginning to wrap around him and begin to spin.

"**Primary Lotus!**" Naruto shouted as he slammed the Sannin into the ground, leaving only his lower body sticking out at an awkward angle. However, he felt a sensation in his back just as Kusanagi slid through his chest and he promptly poofed into smoke just as "Orochimaru" in the ground turned into mud.

'_He can open the first gate…impressive for his age,' _Orochimaru admitted to himself in his thoughts, putting on a lecherous grin. _'If only I could actually possess your body, Naruto-kun, you would be __**perfect.**__'_ He then took to scanning the area, knowing he had taken out the remainder of the clones.

As he continued to scan, a blue blur crossed his vision for only a split second before he felt the sensation of something being shoved through his left shoulder. If he hadn't made a slight adjustment at the last moment, it likely would have been his heart.

"Gah!" Orochimaru called out as he felt himself be electrocuted fiercely, presumably from whatever had gone through him. However, not wanting to take even a split second to see what it was, he quickly replaced himself with a log from a nearby tree.

It was then that he unhinged his usually human-like jaw and performed a style of body replacement that had been designed solely for him. The pain from the serious wound he had taken just a moment ago receded as he stepped out in a new body, leaving what looked like shed skin behind. With a flick of the hand, he recalled Kusanagi to him since he had dropped it due to the pain before.

"Idiot," Naruto called as he smashed through the tree that the sword had just gone around, swinging his now-blood-covered arm at the traitor. As Orochimaru ducked immediately and finally got a good view of who was presumably the original, he could only guess what the technique was.

It was incredibly clear from the nature of the chakra outlining him itself that it had something to do with lightning manipulation, even if it was to an incredibly extent. Taking a shot in the dark, Orochimaru presumed that it ran the lightning through his system at a set amount to increase his muscle power and reaction speed. All in all, an incredibly powerful technique if he could get his hands on it. However, for the time being, he settled for trying to swipe his extending sword at the blonde as he jumped backwards to gain some distance.

However, Naruto simply ducked under the sword and shot off at a speed that Orochimaru couldn't follow. As he prepared himself to land on another branch that he had jumped towards, he felt a heel smash into his face as he went flying _through_ a tree trunk that had been nearby and into the clearing they were at in the beginning. He even felt himself get shocked pretty badly again even through the brief contact.

Without a word, the traitor begin his body replacement again, ending it just as Naruto hopped into the clearing and was panting moderately, his lightning armor gone.

* * *

'_Finally, that annoying technique must have been a constant-drainage type,' _Orochimaru thought with a smirk on his face clearly evident to anyone looking.

"Done so soon, Naruto-_kun_?" He asked, obviously trying to get under his skin.

"You're one to talk," the blonde responded. "A completely new body that must cost what, 20ish percent of your chakra?"

Orochimaru let his smirk slip once again, annoyed that he had pointed out a truth he hadn't expected him to know. In actuality, each new body cost him roughly 25 percent of his chakra, so he was already halfway drained. However, he smirked again, confident that what he would do next would frighten him.

"No matter, it's more than enough to finish you off and then kill those sluts of yours," he said mockingly.

Naruto simply grit his teeth, trying not to reply to the obvious barb as he clenched his fists.

"You wouldn't believe how much they talk about you. Naruto-kun this, Naruto-kun that," he said with a look of sick perversion written on his features. "I'll take great pleasure in letting them know that you're dead."

"You're sick," Naruto responded with a bit of a growl at the thought of him hurting his friends. "What kind of monster would do that, to his own daughter no less?!"

"Kukuku…why a snake of course."

The blonde simply narrowed his eyes as Orochimaru did a _very _familiar set of hand seals. He couldn't help but let a moment of temporary competitiveness run through him as he channeled a hefty amount of his remaining reserves into his hands and performed the hand seals himself.

"**Summoning Technique!**" Orochimaru called, creating a very large plume of smoke that had an ominous hissing sound coming from within.

"**Orochimaru!" **Manda hissed, obviously in frustration. "**Why have you summoned me?!**"

"We need to capture the brat," Orochimaru said with a sickening grin.

"**You need me for such a menial task?**"The snake hissed in a bit of anger. "**I expect 100 sacrifices for this!**"

"You'll get them, Manda," Orochimaru said in a placating manner as he looked on in interest at the blonde who was still holding the final seal of a technique, his hands now letting off a rather ominous glow.

'_What is he up to?' _Orochimaru asked in wonder before his eyes widened, remembering the one time Jiraiya had actually summoned the elder toads of his contract. Of course the snake Sannin had mocked him for his choice, but he couldn't exactly argue at the power they displayed. Seeing that ominous glow actually made him, for the first time in a long time, genuinely nervous.

"Manda! Get ri-" He shouted, but it was too late.

"**Summoning Technique!**" Naruto called, feeling himself take a knee on the ground at only having around 10 percent of so of his overall chakra remaining. He quickly reached inside of a pocket and popped a soldier pill even as he felt himself propelled into the air as the gargantuan smoke cloud covered the area.

It was then that Orochimaru actually grew a bit scared, which he hadn't felt since "Tobi" ensured he understood where he was on the totem pole. That feeling only increased as he felt his snake familiar below him begin to actually _tremble._

"**It…no. It can't be,**" Manda stated as he let his tongue dart out, tasting the air. The result of this action only caused his trembling to worsen.

As the smoke finally began to dissipate to a point that the creature inside the cloud could be seen, Orochimaru's eyes widened even as his familiar slithered back a bit at seeing the _one_ thing it _genuinely _feared.

"**Hello **_**son**_**,**" the drastically larger snake said as the blonde stood up upon its head. "**I hope you've made peace with yourself. Today is the day you die!**"

* * *

**Done!**

**Hope you all enjoyed, as I actually had quite a bit of fun writing out this chapter. I just want to make a few notes here for anyone interested in some things that went on during the fight before anyone reviews and asks about it.**

**Primarily, I'm talking about the lightning armor. Obviously it isn't really **_**his**_** creation, but he's unaware that it's what the Raikage is known for. Until they actually meet for one reason or another, I will keep having him refer to it as his own. **

**Secondly, the chakra consumption part of it. Normally, he has stupidly huge reserves that I don't think the Raikage could hope to match. Yet, the Raikage held it substantially longer than Naruto did during his fights in Canon, what gives? The answer to that is that he hasn't completely mastered it yet. He can only practice on himself since the damage it deals immediately pops shadow clones at the moment. Since it isn't mastered, he hasn't refined the amount of chakra it takes just yet either. As a result, it takes a substantial amount of chakra to keep it active. Thus, he doesn't use it unless he feels it's necessary. **

**Finally, the Sharingan. He didn't use it because he doesn't want his enemies knowing about it. He could use Amaterasu, but Orochimaru also might be able to substitute away before it catches him. He's known to be very skilled, so Naruto doesn't want to take the chance of him finding out.**

**Thanks for reading, and for all of the favs/follows/reviews. Don't _expect_ any updates until after the New Year is over. I may try to get in some writing, but there's no guarantee. Just in case, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas/Happy New Year. **


	16. A Hidden Snake Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 16: A Hidden Snake; Part 2

* * *

"I'm still…a bit weary of this," Sarutobi Hiruzen stated after taking a long draw from his pipe, enjoying the flavor he got in response.

"There isn't really a whole lot to debate here, Hokage-sama," stated a man from across the room after giving a sigh. "The intelligence we received from Jiraiya-sama clearly leads me to believe that Iwa and Kumo are starting to alter their curriculum and Genin teams to create specialized assault squads of four individuals instead of three. We're going to have to do something with our teams to have a possible answer for this in terms of strategy."

Just the mere thought at what he was going to say next drew another sigh from the scarred man. He couldn't help but smirk at how it had actually become his son's catch phrase in a way.

"This who thing is just troublesome."

At this, everyone within the room suppressed a slight chuckle. Within Hiruzen's office currently stood some of the most powerful and influential people within Konoha, namely the clan heads of the village. This intelligence, and any decision it could cause, was important enough to warrant having them all included on the meeting since it could affect the future.

Naturally, this meant that the Sandaime's advisors were also within the room as well. However, they were only there to offer their opinion on the matter at hand, not actually have any say in the final decision.

Before the Hokage could respond to the matter at hand, however, a swirl of sand within the room instantly put everyone on alert. Being trained shinobi, every one of them immediately fixated their eyes on where the target would be appearing momentarily even as the ANBU in the room prepared an immobilization jutsu.

However, upon seeing a familiar red-head clad in a black coat and carrying 2 females his own age, the level of hostility took a noticeable downturn. Everyone remained on alert just in case, but the thought of it being a foreign shinobi were at least thrown out of the window initially.

"Hokage-sama!" Gaara shouted as he quickly dropped the wide-eyed Hinata in the middle of the room, though still holding on to the now-unconscious Anko in front of him. "It's Orochimaru!"

Just as Gaara finished his announcement, an audible _poof_ was heard. Everyone within the office immediately turned to the window, noting the large cloud of smoke that appeared in the distance. To actually _hear_ a summon from that far away required it to be a creature of at least Gamabunta's level.

Naturally, the eyes of everyone in the room widened in a bit of terror as they saw the massive snake that loomed in the horizon. There wasn't a soul within the room who didn't immediately realize who had likely summoned it.

"Orochimaru…" Hiruzen stated somberly as his fists clenched and he subconsciously bit on his pipe in a bit of anger. He had obviously suspected the man as he was the one to send Gaara and Naruto on the mission, so he could deduce a rough idea of what had happened.

"Gaara," he started as he tore himself away from the sight of Manda in the distance. "What happened?"

As his soon-to-be subordinate was about to answer, however, another _poof_ drew his attention back to the window. After waiting for the almost-absurd amount of smoke to clear, the only sound within the room was that of his pipe clattering against the floor as he willingly let it slide out of his mouth.

"_**Hello son, I hope you've made peace with yourself. Today is the day you die!" **_

Hiruzen visibly allowed his shock to show at seeing a summon larger than Manda himself appear. He opened his mouth as he looked back towards the red head, about to command an order, when he disappeared without a word in a Shunshin. He seemingly had already gotten the gist of what he was about to be ordered to do.

"ANBU!" Hiruzen commanded as the clan heads seemingly snapped to attention after their shock had passed. 3 agents immediately appeared in front of him, kneeling to receive their orders.

"One of you escort those two girls to the hospital," he stated as he pointed to Hinata and Anko. "The other two go and inform your captain that you're needed to handle the situation."

With a mere bow of the heads as acknowledgement, the 3 men along with the two girls that were previously within the room vanished.

"The rest of you…" Hiruzen stated as he looked upon the clan heads. "Go home and gather your clansmen. I will send further orders. Be equipped to deal with an invasion if necessary."

The eyes of the men and women within the room hardened, but he received a nod from all of them before they disappeared in various ways.

"Homura…" he stated as he turned to his teammates. "Direct the captain to tell the men to wait on the village walls. Have the Aburame clan spread their insects around the village in a mile-wide radius to detect any intruders. Also have the Inuzuka and Hyūga clan members do the same if possible. I don't want to send our forces out without having what we're dealing with."

Despite thinking that Orochimaru was likely acting alone, the old Kage wasn't foolish enough to assume anything. His old student likely had a great deal of resources at his disposal, and it wasn't impossible to believe that he might have a mercenary or ninja group waiting to assault the village upon revealing himself.

Thinking along these lines, he quickly moved over to a familiar part of the wall in his office, slamming his hand on it while he channeled chakra to the appendage. The wall glowed before it receded slightly, and then slid to the side. As it did, it revealed an enclosed suit of battle armor.

"Hiruzen…" Koharu stated softly, her worry apparent in her voice. "You're not…"

"It is my failure…" the old Kage said with a depressing look coming over his features. "It is my duty to right the wrong I have created."

Producing a physical key, he quickly unlocked the box as he slid off his familiar Hokage robes.

As he began to throw on his battle suit, he couldn't help but think back to the summons he had seen a few moments ago. Naruto, naturally, had informed him of his new summoning contract. While he hadn't gotten an idea as to _just_ how large the creature he described was, he knew that it was none other than the blonde he viewed as a grandson holding off his traitorous student at the moment.

'_Please be alright until I get there…Naruto.'_

* * *

**(To avoid confusion during this part, Naruto's summon will be referred to as Manda(N) when necessary.) **

After the blonde's summon had announced his threat, Naruto couldn't help but smirk at the sight of his enemy's familiar being in a state of panic. It certainly helped his confidence that the soldier pill he had taken had restored his chakra reserves to around 60 percent as well.

"**F-f-father," **Manda stated as he continued to quiver in fear. **"I-I-I thought t-that you ha-had…" **

"**Died?" **Manda(N) asked, emitting what sounded like an evil chuckle. **"No…**_**son**_**, your plan to kill me failed. Just like your plan to twist our race into your perverted idea of a true snake will fail." **

At this, the purple scales of Naruto's summon seemed to almost shimmer for a moment before they returned to a normal coloration. Though he didn't know exactly what had been done, Naruto felt the immense power that the creature usually emanated almost triple.

"What's going on Manda?" Orochimaru called from the other side of the field, feeling his familiar tremble even more as the shimmer died down.

"**N-n-nature chakra…" **he stuttered, too scared in his own right to mock his summoner. It was the one thing that he couldn't master himself, as it became increasingly difficult the bigger the size of the creature. Even _he_ had never seen his father angry enough to access it before.

Orochimaru's eyes immediately shot open in horror, remembering the power that Jiraiya could do with such power. They only widened further when he felt the chakra signature of the giant snake in front of him skyrocket as it seemed to lean its head back slightly.

"**Give me lightning," **Manda(N) commanded of his summoner, already having discussed such an attack while training him in his Taijutsu style.

"Coming right up!" Naruto shouted with his all-too-familiar smirk lighting up his face.

"**Water Style: Severing Wave!****" **Manda(N) shouted as an absolutely gargantuan quantity of water sprayed out of his mouth in a high-pressured stream. Usually this stream would be incredibly small. However, thanks to the use of nature chakra, it was widened significantly due to sheer quantity and potency of the chakra that was used.

"**Lightning Style:****Lightning Dragon!****" **Naruto shouted after forming roughly 30 hand seals at break-neck speed, shooting out a giant physical manifestation of the element in the form of a dragon. Following the will of its user, it quickly wrapped itself around the wide spray of high-pressured water and gave out a chilling roar as it closed in upon its targets.

Orochimaru's familiar, however, wasn't about to go down without some sort of fight. Scared as he was, he wasn't about to just flop over for his father without at least trying to fight back. Channeling some chakra of its own, it immediately burrowed underground, leaving just its skin on the surface to try and provide a moment of confusion.

'_If I return to the Cave, he can easily kill me at this point if he really wanted to. Tch…I'm going to have to try to kill him then.' _Manda thought as he quickly began to use his snout to dig.

"How can he use jutsu?" Orochimaru spat in a combination of shock and terror from atop his head, obviously still disbelieving what he had witnessed.

However, now wasn't the time to sate the man's curiosity. Using his usual trick, he burrowed under the ground to just behind where his father was last located, shooting his tail up first to try to provide a distraction. He felt his father's body constrict around it immediately and smirked, thinking he had gotten the better of him as he sprung his head out from underground.

As it turns out, trying to fool your teacher with his own tricks didn't work very well.

Coming out, Manda's eyes widened as he realized that it had only been the end of his father's body that coiled around his tail. Regardless of just having seeing him, it was hard to take his gargantuan size into consideration at a moment's notice. It had also been so long since he was actually challenged by another snake, that he hadn't gotten any significant practice.

However, in the end, that wouldn't matter after today.

As he took in the scene within a second's worth of time, he also heard a hiss from his left side. Glancing there briefly, he saw the head of his father close in, and his fangs poised to bite down fiercely upon his neck.

It was only for the briefest of moments, but father and son locked eyes. Within the elder's eyes, for a moment, there was a pang of sorrow. However, it was steeled as quickly as it arrived, and he brought his jaw down.

As the clamp came down, a sickening snap echoed throughout the clearing.

Normally, summoned creatures would automatically return to their natural habitat after sustaining significant damage in order to recover. In this case, however, there was nothing to recover from. Manda, the proclaimed snake lord for the past 60 years or so, slumped in his father's jaw as a corpse.

Orochimaru, meanwhile, stared in a bit of horror. Given, his relationship with his familiar had come as a give and take. Manda would provide power in bad situations in exchange for 100 sacrifices, give or take, each time he was needed. Both of them were alike in that matter, as they wanted something out of a situation they were placed in.

In that sickening sense, the two of them had shared a connection of a sort. While the snake showed no emotion outwardly, he couldn't stop a bit of a pang of guilt from striking his heart, even as it was overshadowed by the immense fear he was now beginning to feel towards the blonde in the clearing and his summon.

"Well," Orochimaru stated with a bit of an arrogant smirk on his face as he jumped off of the corpse of the snake he had known since he was a Chunin. "I may have overdone it a bit, but I'd say I got what I came for."

Naruto just glared at the traitorous Sannin even as Manda lowered his son's lifeless corpse to the ground.

"What exactly was it you came for?" He asked with a bit of contempt.

"Kukuku, wouldn't you like to know?" Orochimaru asked.

"What did you do to Anko?" Naruto asked, thinking back to how he had seen him bite her. Thinking logically, it was clear that the Sannin had spotted Gaara and himself from the clearing. It must have been one thing he wanted to do before he was completely exposed.

"I just gave her…a parting gift from her father," he responded with a sickening smile on his lips.

"If you hurt her…" Naruto threatened.

"What?" Orochimaru asked as he raised hie eyebrows. "You'll kill me? Please, you're far too soft to try something li-"

At this, however, a rumble within the ground caught him somewhat off-guard and forced him to drop to a knee. He looked up in annoyance immediately, noting that he was quickly being surrounded by sand that was pouring out of the ground beneath him.

"**Sand Burial****"** Gaara stated from the tree line around the clearing, trying to crush the man in sand before he could try to escape. However, he let out a sigh as he felt no resistance to his technique and couldn't locate a nearby hostile chakra signature.

"Did you get him?" Naruto asked, somewhat hopeful.

"**No," **Manda responded before Gaara could. **"He is still alive." **

"I see," he responded, having known that Manda got significant chakra sensing capabilities when he was infused with nature chakra. He would've demanded to chase him down immediately, but there was likely no way they would catch him without walking into a trap of some sort even if they successfully tracked him.

"Are you alright, Naruto?" Gaara asked from the ground, staring up at the giant snake he had never been fully introduced to in a bit of awe.

"I'm fine!" he responded with a shout he sat down and gave the large scale he sat upon a bit of a scratch. Manda wouldn't feel it, of course, but it was the thought that counted.

"You gonna be okay?" the blonde asked softly enough for only the snake to hear, knowing that the creature he was currently upon was in a bit of emotional conflict.

"**Yes," **he responded simply as he lowered his head, letting the blonde jump off safely. He then looked over to the body of his son's corpse and felt a bit of sorrow hit his heart again. Despite being a traitor to his race, having done acts he would condemn him to hell for, and even trying to murder him…it was still his son after all.

"**At least…I will be. Don't call me for a few days if you can help it, as I will be preoccupied." **

Naruto just nodded, watching the elder snake move over and grip his son's body in his mouth. Without another word, a large cloud of smoke announced the reverse summoning of them both.

"What happened?" Gaara asked once the massive summon was gone.

"…Family matters," he responded, not wanting to delve into the whole situation with his summon.

"I see," the red head said as he reached a gloved hand up and palmed his face, letting out a sigh of relief even as his breathing began to come down to a normal level. "You're alright then?"

"Yeah," the blonde responded as he subconsciously shifted the shoulder he had been cut along with Kusanagi, "I'm fine. How are Hinata and Anko?"

"Hinata was fine, nothing but a bit shaken. Anko…" Gaara drew out. "Anko seemed to have some sort of seal on her neck, if I had to guess from when I looked her over. You know I never really delved into the art as much as you did."

"Alright, then let's go!" Naruto said, about to jump off before he felt a strong presence heading in their direction. Even people who were incapable of sensing any sort of chakra usage would have felt the immense pressure it was putting out to the immediate area.

Turning his head towards the incoming source, he let a small smile cross his lips as it came into range.

"Sorry Jiji, already took care of it for now!" Naruto shouted, causing the incoming Sandaime to stop in his tracks.

"Naruto-kun?" He asked with widened eyes, taking in the unharmed presence of the redhead next to him. "You…you finished Orochimaru by yourself?"

"Not quite," he admitted reluctantly. "Come on, you can debrief me on the way back to Konoha. Anko apparently got some weird seal from the freak. I'm not about to let that go unchecked."

Scanning the immediate area for any sign of his ex-student's chakra signature and feeling nothing, the Sandaime could do nothing but nod and began to use Shunshin to keep up with the blonde in front of him as he rushed back to their village.

"Let's just start with the obvious," Hiruzen said as he began to pull in the Ki he had been releasing, "what exactly happened?"

* * *

(5 minutes later within Konoha's walls)

Panic would be the ideal way to describe the current state of mind of the villagers. Effectively put in the position of acting Hokage, Homura had given the order to withdraw the villagers to the shelters they had designed to withstand barrage from enemy siege weaponry and jutsu.

Therefore, the streets were crowded with civilians rushing towards the shelters in order to get safe with their children and other loved ones. However, lower-level shinobi were also trying to rush through the streets to the outer walls to get into the positions they were quickly rushed into.

Everything considered, it would likely be best described as a giant clusterfuck.

What was more concerning for many of the shinobi forces, however, was the lack of intelligence. Most of them had either seen, felt, or heard the giant snakes that did battle as well as the shaking ground that occurred as a result. However, roughly 5 minutes ago, it had all come to an abrupt stop. Both snakes, it seemed, had disappeared. They were also far enough out of range that the Hyūga members couldn't simply track the battle with their dōjutsu.

The familiar summons, naturally, brought up the whispers of the infamous traitor. Orochimaru was, after all, the only one to be widely associated with snakes as a summoning contract. The whispers only gained more merit as a rumor of the Hokage himself rushing out of the village was confirmed by a select few among the shinobi that had gathered.

Despite the fact that the Hokage was personally handling the issue, the Konoha shinobi couldn't help but feel nervous. The fact of the matter was that they might have to deal with a Sannin, and most of them acknowledged the fact that it would result in their death if it came to it. A wild shout from a Hyūga member that was scanning the wall, however, brought the depressing thoughts to an end.

"It's Hokage-sama!" He declared happily, not even bothering to identify the two next to him as they seemed to be friendly.

The cry was met by an echoing cheer from the assembled shinobi. Of course, as usual, they jumped to conclusions that weren't necessarily true.

"He did it, he must've killed Orochimaru!"

"Yeah, that damned snake is finally dead!"

"We're finally done with that traitor!"

The cries only increased as the Hokage and his two traveling companions came into view, stopping a fair distance away and walking towards the group so they didn't arouse suspicion at trying to sneak by the enemy lines. Even though they were in a hurry to get to the hospital, it was better than getting there and having to deal with a few groups of Chunin, Jonin, or ANBU that were sent to deal with the possible threat.

"Is it Hokage-sama?" One of the ANBU agents in the back of the gathered shinobi asked to a nearby Hyūga member. He quickly received a nod on his identity as well as the identity of the two people traveling with him.

"They're clear to pass!" The ANBU shouted, causing the shinobi to split ranks and give a single line of passage to the three of them before they even came into speaking range.

"Hah, told you," Naruto stated as soon as they heard the crowd cheering for the Hokage's victory as they got closer. "Doesn't matter if you're not even scratched."

Hiruzen just grumbled a bit, hoping that the common shinobi that composed Konoha would be able to spot the different in damage between the three of them even if it was still a good distance away. Hiruzen and Gaara looked completely untouched while Naruto looked like he had been through some sort of hell.

He had several cuts over his body from minor scrapes throughout the fight, particularly the one that was caused by Kusanagi. Parts of his shirt and pants were actually burned through, likely from his unperfected lightning armor. Thankfully, however, most everything else was intact. It also seemed that the poison he had been infected with throughout the fight was nullified thanks to the Kyubi.

"Not a big deal," the blonde stated as he could sense the aged man's souring mood at army's continued cheers, especially after having been briefed on how the blonde had held his student at bay.

"I'm going to head to the hospital though, I need to see what Orochimaru did to Anko," Naruto stated with the slight indication of a plea in his voice.

Hiruzen simply nodded after letting out a sigh, giving his unvoiced consent.

"I'll deal with everything else. Don't hesitate to come and get me if it's something you aren't intricately familiar with."

"Thanks Jiji," he said with a smile before turning to the red head. "Let's go Gaara."

Getting a nod in return, the two boys then immediately disappeared in a Shunshin. One left nothing behind while the other left a small smile of sand.

'_Now…if I could only convince the villagers to stop being so idiotic about the damned fox so I could convince him to take the hat from me one day.'_

* * *

Konoha's hospital, meanwhile, was prepping for what was likely going to be a nightmare. Naturally, with the village taking precautions for an invasion, certain protocols were initiated at the hospital as well.

For one, 10 guards at the entrance at any given time with no lower than Chunin rank. After all, no one wants to have your saved shinobi immediately killed once they're off the battlefield.

Secondly, a visual Genjutsu was placed on the hospital to make it inconspicuous to unknowing enemies. Naturally, well informed enemies usually knew where it was anyway, but it didn't hurt to use it to throw off uninformed grunts. All Konoha citizens were given detailed information as to where key locations were, so they should know it by heart regardless of any visual changes.

Finally, every off-duty member of the hospital was called to come and pitch in. As it was now, the hospital was packed with personnel, but no patients to actually use them all. Aside from the two girls who had been brought in by an ANBU agent, they had no one aside from their usual numbers.

It was with a bit of nervous anxiety, then, that the doctors and nurses who were in the front of the hospital heard the guards outside call for someone to come to a halt. Not even 5 seconds later, they heard a number of thuds that sounded like bodies falling over.

The group of medical professionals held their breath as they heard a pair of steps make their way to the door. They watched it slide open agonizingly slowly as a familiar-looking blonde walked in, followed by a familiar red head.

"Oh, it's just _them_," spat a male nurse who was obviously on edge.

Ignoring the statement, Naruto and Gaara simply stood in place, closing their eyes as if they were searching for something.

"Found her," Gaara stated as he placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder and they both flickered away only to move 2 floors up and into one of the resting rooms. They immediately tensed, however, when they heard slightly muffled screaming not a moment later.

"Anko!" Naruto screamed, slamming the door open to the room that it had obviously come from. Once he stepped inside he was greeted by a rather sickening sight.

Anko, his friend, and his very first friend to boot, was lying on her hospital bed with her back arced to a sickening degree as another silent scream tried to escape from her throat. Hinata was at her side, tears streaming down her face as she clearly had no idea at what was going on. The ANBU agent who had dropped them off was nowhere in sight, and what little medical personnel was in the room were merely sitting around and conversing with themselves.

The sheer rage that Naruto felt at that moment at no one even _attempting_ to give her some sort of medical treatment was more than he had ever actually felt towards the villagers at any point in the past. He could forgive ignorant civilians and shinobi for judging him unfairly, but he would not forgive people who had sworn oaths to help others just letting them lie there in pain. They may not know anything about how to fix the problem, but they should have at least been performing diagnostic work.

"**Get. Out," **he stated with heavy amounts of killing intent lacing each word, causing them to turn around and look towards him in fear. They seemed to stumble, not knowing what they should do.

"**NOW!" **he snapped, causing them to all rush out of the door even as the usually-kind blonde shook with rage.

"N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata stated from across the room shakily.

The worried tone of her voice did the trick, as he felt his rage temporarily melt away even as a scream echoed through the room from Anko's mouth again, a sickening purple smoke coming off from her neck.

"Definitely a seal," Naruto mumbled as he rushed over to the bedside, Gaara following him closely in case he needed any help. He quickly shoved what little clothing was covering the mark out of the way, giving him a perfect view of what was there.

Having already reached the level of a seal master, he could read almost any seal perfectly, it was just a matter of creating and placing them that was holding his level back. As such, he had no trouble reading the seal on his friend's neck, new though it might have been.

"A chakra-altering seal…a chakra storage seal presumably full of his own…and a mind-tampering seal...fucking fantastic," Naruto grumbled as his mind raced for what he should do.

"I-is she g-going to be o-okay?" Hinata asked from the side, stuttering only because of how worried she was.

"She'll be fine," the blonde mumbled as he reached into one of his pouches and took out his brush and ink supply. "Hinata, Gaara, help me get her clothes off."

"What?" Gaara asked, not entirely sure that he had heard that correctly.

"You heard me!" Naruto responded angrily, only growing more frustrated as Anko's face contorted in pain. "I have to paint seals on her body to contain what this seal is going to do, so strip her while I get a sealing circle set up."

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu," **Naruto stated, bringing 2 of them into existence. One of them immediately started shoving curtains and medical supplies out from the middle of the room to give them more space while the other sat down in the center with the original and began to draw symbols with his own copied ink supply.

Thankfully, his mastery of sealing was to a point that he didn't have to do anything else externally rather than the somewhat large circle on the ground, but it was still frustrating to have to do that as every second seemed to cause Anko more and more pain.

"Put her in the circle," Naruto commanded as he finished it, having his now-free shadow clone do it instead of putting the job off on Gaara or Hinata.

At his current age, Naruto or any other boy would have blushed at the sight that greeted him with his friend's nude form. However, he ran his brush over her skin with master-quality precision. Shortly afterwards, symbols ran down both of her arms, her chest and belly, and each of her legs as well. Everything connected to a small circle that enclosed the enflamed mark that had been placed on her neck.

'_Thankfully I still have the idiot's blood on my glove,' _Naruto thought as he managed to scrape off the somewhat-dried substance and place it within the circle on Anko's neck. _'That should make this a lot more effective.' _

He then went through a series of roughly 20 hand seals, and smacked his hand on the mark that was still letting off a sickening purple smoke.

"**Curse Sealing!" **Naruto shouted, causing the girl's body to tremble, presumably with more pain. He left his hand on the mark, however, as the symbols that were painted onto her skin quickly began to be drawn into the circle. As they did, the smoke quickly stopped coming from the mark, and the inflamed skin around it seemed to return to a bit more of a normal shade.

After ensuring the jutsu was finished, and inspecting the seal to make sure nothing was still giving off an evil-ish aura, he finally let out a small sigh of relief. It also certainly helped that her face finally seemed to relax and fall into a blissful state of unconsciousness.

"She…she should be fine now," Naruto stated in an exhausted fashion as he let his two clones dispel, leaving only clouds of smoke in their wake. The circle of symbols had disappeared through the sealing, giving the room some sense of normalcy. He carefully bent down, picking up Anko's body bridal-style, and moved her carefully back onto the hospital bed she had occupied.

Only after moving her back safely, and looking down on her form once again, did he allow a brief blush to cross the bridge of his nose in embarrassment.

"Ah…Hinata," he said, drawing the girl's attention immediately. "Gaara and I…are going to step outside for a second. Can you get her dressed please?"

Looking back down to her friend's nude form, and back up to the boy she was now willing to admit she had a crush on, she let a blush cross her own face as she realized what had happened. Instead of giving a vocal response, she simply gave a nod.

"Good," he stated with a smile as he turned to the red head who already had his back turned. "Just…holler at us once you're finished."

The two boys quickly found themselves outside and closing the door behind them. Naruto couldn't help but silently scoff at the fact that _no_ medical personnel had actually waited to make sure she was okay. It would seem they were more than willing to have just let her pass away during this little incident.

He felt some buried rage return to the surface once again at the thought of the medics from before doing nothing, but stopped thinking on the matter when he felt a hand grip his shoulder.

"You know what they're like, Naruto," Gaara said plainly when his fellow jinchūriki had turned to him.

"Yeah, to _us_ Gaara," he said with a bit of venom. "Not to _them._"

"Even if they looked at her as a normal civilian, which they don't, it wouldn't have mattered. You know as well as I do that no one short of a seal master could have actually helped her."

At this, the blonde had to let out a sigh. Despite his frustration on the matter, Gaara was right. While they could've put a towel on her head or tried to comfort her in some way, nothing would have actually helped in the long run.

"…You always have to be right, don't you?" He asked somewhat teasingly as he slowly moved to the side of the door and leaned against the wall, finally allowing himself to relax a bit.

"One of us has to be the rational one," Gaara said with a teasing tone of his own.

"Says the guy who won't get into sealing more because it's 'too boring,'" Naruto shot back.

"For the last time Naruto," he stated with a sigh, "it just doesn't come naturally to me like it does for you."

"Uh huh, sure, whatever you say."

The Ichibi jinchūriki merely gave a grunt, not wanting to try to argue further with the whisker-marked blonde.

They sat in contented silence for a few moments before they heard the door knob twist, causing them both to instinctively look towards the source.

"You can both come in now," Hinata said softly before she stepped away, allowing them to go ahead of her. Gaara stepped in first since he was just a smidge closer, soon followed by the blonde who took the time to shut the door behind him. However, before he could continue forward, he was stopped in his tracks as he felt a force push him back a bit. Turning his eyes downward, he saw a mop of dark blue hair and couldn't help but let a warm smile cross his features.

"It's okay," he said softly, wrapping his arms around the Hyūga girl. While having had no real previous experience in comforting someone, he had read enough about human psychology to have a general idea of what to do.

"Everything's going to be okay," he said softly, feeling Hinata cling to him a bit tighter and feeling her shake a little as she did.

"I thought…I-I thought…" she started to say before she lost herself to just crying again, burying her face in the small space below the blonde's neck that the ANBU chest piece didn't cover.

"I know," he whispered as he subconsciously held her a bit closer. "but we're all okay."

After a few moments of digesting his soothing words, Hinata slowly nodded, sniffling once to try to clear up her voice. She then pulled her head away only slightly, reaching a hand up to wipe away her tears while trying to hide them from everyone.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun," she said softly. After another moment, she pulled away from him, looking her slightly irritated lavender eyes with his own cerulean blue ones.

"You're welcome, Hinata," he said with a warm smile. "Let's go see how Anko is doing."

Silently agreeing with the blonde, and blushing slightly at realizing how close she had been with him, the two of them moved over to her bedside. Gaara had taken up residence at corner of a wall behind her, choosing to remain a bit distant for the time being.

After several long minutes of silent waiting, she finally stirred on her bed, turning her head to the side of the bed Naruto was on by chance. After a few more moments, her eyes cracked open slowly.

'_Ugh…what hit me?' _Anko thought as eyes cracked open. However, the thoughts vanished as she realized just who was in front of her and staring at her intently. Even she couldn't stop the mild blush that crossed her face.

"Hey there Anko," Naruto said softly as he leaned in closer. "How are you feeling?"

"Naruto-kun?" She asked, adding the usually unsaid suffix because she was so groggy. "What…where…?"

"Relax," he commanded softly, pressing her down as she tried to sit up. "Tell me how you're feeling first, and then I'll answer your questions."

"My neck feels a little sore…" Anko stated as she reached a hand up and rubbed over the mark she was still uninformed of. "I also feel kind of sleepy…but I don't know how I got here."

"What's the last thing you remember?" Naruto asked, still looking at her intensely.

"I…" she began to say as her brow furrowed in thought. "I was sparring with Jin. I remember he was being a bit rougher than usual but…I don't…remember even being knocked unconscious."

The blonde at her bedside simply let out a sigh at that, feeling guilt swell in his chest a bit as he realized he would have to tell her exactly what had happened.

"Anko…" he started, electing to be a bit blunt with the next part. "It turns out that Jin…was actually Orochimaru in disguise."

The blonde had to stop his throat from clenching at the look of hurt that crossed his friend's face at that moment, but he managed to do so. He slipped his hand onto the bed and grabbed hers, doing so out of instinct more than anything else. It seemed to have the desired effect, as the look of hurt softened a bit. She looked like she wanted to shout in anger, betrayal, pain, or any combination of the three, but she kept silent and merely looked to the blonde for more information.

"Gaara and I were assigned by the old man to keep an eye on him, as he was starting to suspect he might have been a spy. When you two were sparring, his neck suddenly stretched out and…he bit you."

"He…he bit me?" Anko asked as her eyes glazed over a bit, seemingly trying hard to think back as to what happened. Her free hand reached up after a long moment, clutching over the spot the curse was at as if on instinct. She also gripped the blonde's hand a little bit harder in the process, though she wasn't doing so consciously.

"I'll be honest with you about this," the blonde continued. "When he bit you, it left a seal of some sort. He also tried to do the same thing to Hinata. It's…it's a pretty nasty piece of work. Luckily, I knew something to keep it in check."

"I…he…" Anko began before her throat tightened. Naruto couldn't help but feel his heart wrench a bit as she tried desperately to hold back her tears to no avail. They poured out freely, running down her cheeks as she continued to look at him from the slightly elevated position on her bed.

"He…he put a seal on me?" She finally managed to squeak out, looking at the blonde and simply praying that he would tell her it was all a joke.

"Yes," he answered plainly, though he squeezed her hand a bit tighter in response to try to give her some small comfort. "Like I said though, I've managed to keep it in check."

"B-but h-he's…Orochimaru is supposed to be a scientist. How…how could you keep something he put on me in check?" Anko asked, her tears still flowing down her cheeks freely.

In response, he simply directed a warm smile towards the girl.

"Because I'm not going to let him keep hurting one of my friends. I won't let him hurt you again."

Anko just looked at the blonde dumbly, but felt a small heat rise to her face that indicated she was blushing once again. Despite her horrible situation, and her currently raging emotions, it seemed that Naruto always had a way of calming her down and comforting her.

"For what it's worth," Gaara stated from out of the corner, causing everyone to turn towards him. "I won't let him hurt any of my friends again either."

"I won't either," Hinata said as she gripped her best friend's free hand in a friendly fashion, giving Anko her best smile while she did.

"You guys…" Anko began shakily, a reluctant smile forcing itself upon her face. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Naruto said as he used his free hand to pat her shoulder.

The four of them then sat together for a few minutes, mostly having Naruto fill them in on what had happened. While initially stunned that he could go toe-to-toe with one of the most powerful ninja to come out of Konoha, somehow none of them were really too surprised by it. It was almost as if they could tell from their interactions that he could be incredibly powerful if he needed to be.

Before he could tell them the story in full detail, however, there was a knock at the door that led into the room.

"I'll get it," Naruto said softly, taking two steps away from the bed only to be forced to lurch back slightly.

"Anko," he said softly, "I'm going to need my hand back."

Reluctant, blushing, and a bit embarrassed, the girl nodded and let his hand go after a moment. He then walked over to the door and opened it, not surprised in the least by what he saw.

"Uzumaki Naruto," stated an ANBU agent in a weasel mask. "You are ordered to report to the council chambers immediately."

Sighting, the blonde just nodded his head. "Give me one moment to let my friends know."

The ANBU agent just nodded, at least acknowledging that his request wasn't out of the question.

Stepping back into the room, and not bothering to close the door before-hand, he gave his friends a smile.

"I gotta go and give a report to the council about everything," he announced. He noted that Hinata and Anko both seemed saddened while Gaara remained neutral on the subject.

"Do you have to go?" Anko asked in a soft voice, causing Hinata to give her a knowing look.

"Yeah, it's sort of an order," he said sheepishly. "I'll tell you what though, when I come back I'll see if I can't bring you that stuff that you said you love. Dango, I think it was?"

At the mention of her favorite food, Anko's saddened expression turned into a much brighter one.

"Alright," she said in an exasperated fashion. "But you better keep your word on that."

"Yeah yeah," Naruto said with a slight smile at seeing her cheer up. "I promise I'll bring you some. Hinata, is there anything you want?"

"Cinnamon rolls from the bakery," the two girls answered in harmony. The blonde couldn't help but laugh a bit at how in-synch that the answer was. After the brief laugh, he nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Cinnamon rolls and dango it is," he said with a smile. "I'll see you all in a bit then."

Giving a final wave to everyone, he then walked out of the door to the weasel masked agent. They then disappeared quickly in a Shunshin.

"So…" Gaara began once he was gone. "Are you two ever going to actually come out and tell him?"

"Wh-what do you mean, Gaara?" Hinata asked with a mild blush spreading across her face at the implication, matching the one Anko had herself.

"I mean that you both obviously like him as more than friends," he said with an exasperated roll of the eyes. "I also happened to hear you two talking about him before, so don't take me for a fool."

"I…" Hinata began to say, only to look away in a bit of embarrassment.

"Eventually," Anko answered from her bed. "Whenever we work out how we want to tell him."

Gaara nodded at this, acknowledging that it was probably for the best.

"Just…make sure you don't try to hide it and expect him to find out on his own," he said with a small smile. "He's closer to a genius than I'll ever be, but he can be really naïve about certain matters. I have a distinct feeling that relationships will be one of them."

* * *

(Konoha Council Chamber)

Naruto and the weasel agent popped up just outside of the door that would lead inside of the council chamber. The blonde couldn't help but frown a bit at the upcoming conversation, but kept his head up regardless. Hopefully the shinobi council members, at the very least, would praise him for what he had done.

The weasel agent, however, didn't spare a moment to allow the blonde to recuperate from the trip. He immediately moved to the door and channeled chakra into it, causing a loud _click_ to ring throughout the hallway. He then opened the door and gestured towards the jinchūriki to step inside.

Without a word or thought in protest, Naruto simply walked into the room, only glancing back for a brief moment as the door slammed shut behind him.

"Uzumaki Naruto," a familiar voice resounded through the chamber and into the blonde's ear. "Please step into the center of the room."

The blonde glanced to Hiruzen, the one who had spoken a moment ago, and flashed a smile towards him. However, he stepped in front of the assembled shinobi. The clan heads and civilian council were gathered in front of him while the Hokage and his advisors stood at his back. A bit of an odd speaking arrangement, but understandable as it put whoever was speaking in a state of vulnerability by having their back exposed to someone. He chose to willingly expose his back to the Hokage and stand facing the assembled council.

"Here as commanded, Hokage-sama," he stated formally.

Hiruzen winced inwardly a bit at hearing the formal address, but knew it was for the best at the moment. He merely gazed at the back of the blonde with a growing sense of pride, happy to see that Minato's son was already so powerful and confident in himself.

"I have taken the liberty of briefing everyone here on the verbal report you gave me on the field," Hiruzen explained. "I have merely brought you here to quell their curiosity on the issue at hand."

"Understood," Naruto responded as he had read to in such a situation.

"Very well then," Hiruzen stated with a brief smile. "Any questions?"

Immediately, Shikaku stood up from his seat, causing everyone else to quiet down with questions they were intending to ask. He didn't go through the effort of standing formally very often, so when he did it was usually given precedence over everyone else.

"I'll begin by saying I find this entire situation far too troublesome for my liking," he said with a bit of a grimace. "However, I have to ask, did you really push Orochimaru back like you said?"

"Yes," Naruto responded immediately and without any change in facial expression. His mindset seemed reminiscent of an ANBU agent filing a report, which sent a shiver of fear down many of the clan heads' spines.

"I see," Shikaku said as he took the boy at his word. "Would you mind detailing how?"

"I engaged the traitor with Taijutsu initially to push him away from the two girls he was with," Naruto stated with a neutral voice that was obviously purposely tuning out as much emotion as possible. "After pushing him away from them and ordering them back to the village, I engaged in a Taijutsu bout once again. He then withdrew a sword he referred to as Kusanagi."

At this, many of the shinobi gulped a bit, obviously having heard the legends of the sword. It certainly wasn't beyond belief that someone of Orochimaru's reputation had managed to locate the blade if it existed.

"Deciding that it wouldn't be wise to continue engaging him without a weapon of equal power, I engaged him in a combination of Ninjutsu and enhanced Taijutsu."

"What Ninjutsu could you possibly know already?" Shikaku asked, genuinely curious. Many of the civilian and shinobi councilors agreed, though for a much ruder reason.

"Shadow Clones, a plethora of lightning element jutsu, the academy basics, Shunshin no Jutsu, and a handful of others."

Everyone's eyes widened at the admission, though a few remained disbelieving.

"Forgive me if I sound rude, Uzumaki-san," Aburame Shibi stated as he stood next to Shikaku. "However, I find it difficult to believe that someone with your limited jutsu library, impressive as it might be for your age, could push back a member of the Sannin. Not to mention the fact that his speed and strength should completely overwhelm you."

"Your difficulty in believing him is not necessary Shibi," Hiruzen answered from his position on the elevated platform he was on. "I have sworn testimony from Gai stating that he is capable in defeating him in single combat if pushed."

At this, the shinobi council members looked as if they had been struck. They wouldn't put it past Hiruzen to try to put the boy in a better position. It was clear, after all, that he had an interest in the boy. However, sworn testimony from one of their elite Jonin changed matters. On top of that, it was from the second most powerful Jonin that was in the village on a regular basis.

"I…see," Shibi stated with eyebrows that were still raised over his glasses. "Please forgive my brief outburst then."

Naruto just nodded as the man sat back down, allowing himself a brief smile at the disbelieving eyes that were traveling over him.

"Continuing from where I left off," Naruto stated, "I managed to wound him rather severely in a few of the exchanges. However, he used some sort of jutsu to refresh himself. It seemed to have a heavy chakra cost, but it allowed him to remove all of his accumulated physical wounds."

"That would be his odd use of Body Replacement," Hiruzen stated from his platform. "It was something he used during his later fights while he was still loyal to Konoha."

Naruto nodded, not having known that before, but stored it away for later.

"After forcing him into a clearing, he brought forth his familiar to do battle against me. He seemed to get cocky at that point and talked for a moment, allowing me to bring forth my own familiar."

"Was that the giant snake we saw fighting Manda?" Shikaku asked.

"Yes," Naruto responded. "He was in charge of a small sect that was separate from the Snake Contract Orochimaru signed."

"Was?" Shikaku asked, not letting that particular phrasing slip passed him.

"Yes, _was_. After engaging the two of them in combat, we managed to kill Manda."

"You…_killed_ a boss summon?" Shikaku asked disbelievingly.

"As long as the damage is done fast enough and is lethal enough, it is possible," Hiruzen stated. "It is a rare and considerable feat, but not impossible."

Everyone within the chamber took the shinobi renowned as "The Professor" at his word on the matter. Many people never had a summoning contract, after all, so it wasn't wide-spread knowledge.

"To answer your question, yes," Naruto stated with a small nod. "My familiar and I killed the boss of the Snake contract. I say he _was_ in charge of a small sect of snakes because he will now likely become the boss of the Snake contract, effectively bringing it back under Konoha's control."

The shinobi side looked as if they had been struck again. Despite their dislike of snakes because of Orochimaru's deeds, their power was second to none except possibly the toads. Having them in Konoha once again was a huge boon for the village.

"I…see," Shikaku said as he took in the knowledge.

"After we killed him," Naruto continued without prompt, "he started to bait me into getting emotional. At that time, Gaara arrived to assist me in combat. Before we could successfully trap him, he decided to flee. Fast as we might be, we cannot track and capture a Sannin. He has too much experience in escaping."

"That…seems reasonable," Shikaku said with a nod at his thoughts about Orochimaru getting away. "I'm sorry if it seemed that I was doubting you. It's just hard to believe that an academy student could do so much."

"It's fine," Naruto said with a wave in front of his face to dismiss the apology.

"Are…are we seriously going to believe that _it_ managed to protect us?" A civilian councilor shouted in a fit of rage. "It's likely working with the snake in secret!"

A murmur of agreement popped up on the civilian side of the council, prompting a few of the clan heads to consider that possibility as well.

The blonde narrowed his eyes at the man who had accused him.

"Are you insinuating that I am a traitor?"

"That's exactly wh-!"

The man was immediately brought to silence as killing intent flooded the chamber. Not only did it pour like water from the blonde, but the Sandaime was adding his own into the mix as well. Not only was the man blatantly speaking out of turn on a matter that didn't really involve civilians, but accusing someone he viewed as a grandson of being a traitor was going too far.

Just as soon as it flooded the room, however, it was halved as the blonde brought himself under control. Hiruzen, however, didn't bother to reign himself in.

"You would be wise to know your place," he stated simply before he too cut off his killing intent, letting everyone in the chamber relax substantially from before.

"H-h-h-h-hai, H-Ho-Hokage-sama," the man squeaked as he returned to his seat.

"I was going to leave this omitted since I didn't feel it necessary, but it's _**clear**_that this council needs a bit of perspective on this matter," Hiruzen spat as he reached into his robes and withdrew a black folder.

Reaching into it, he pulled out a single file near the top and stood, moving to a small podium that was on the platform he sat on.

"As of 08:00 this morning, I assigned an S-rank mission to student Uzumaki Naruto and student Gaara. A mission I felt was too dangerous for any individual ANBU, and could not spare an entire squad for. They were to function as spies for the Jonin known as Jin within the village, as there were recent suspicions that he could have been a spy."

A mumbling throughout both sides of the council was heard, and even Hiruzen's advisors spoke quietly amongst themselves.

"I assigned these boys for the simple fact that Jonin Mighto Gai and previous sensei Uchiha Shisui praised them for being far more powerful than they should be for their age. Shisui, at the time, praised them at being Jonin level. Gai, as it stands, praises them to be at around ANBU level if not higher."

More mumbles through the room occurred at this information, and the Shinobi couldn't help but look at the stoic-looking blonde in a bit of new light. Danzo, naturally, had already known this information due to his ROOT agents, so he wasn't surprised.

The information being disclosed, he set the file back inside of the black folder and slipped it inside of his robes once again.

"Naruto not only managed to expose Jin as being a spy that was really Orochimaru, but he also managed to prevent him from dealing any significant damage to our shinobi or our village as a whole. On top of that, he is returning one of Konoha's most powerful summoning contracts to us despite how many of you have treated him in the past. I intend to recommend him for the White Lotus Medal for his service."

Hearing this, no one could really say anything. Despite being the container of their most hellish nightmares, the blonde really had done a service to the village. Not only that, however, but it was all on orders of the Hokage. The civilian side looked at him with a bit less hate while the shinobi side looked at him with even more respect than before.

"Naruto, you may leave now," Hiruzen stated with a genuine smile towards him for the first time since he had entered the chamber. "I will get payment to you and Gaara within the week. Thank you for doing this for Konoha."

The blonde let his charade of no emotion slip and gave the old Kage a genuine smile in return.

"Happy to do it, Jiji," he said with a small laugh. "You owe me some ramen some time throughout the week for this though."

"I look forward to it," Hiruzen stated after a small laugh of his own, ignoring the shocked expressions of the council at seeing someone treat him so informally.

"I'll see you all later then, I have some food to buy," the blonde stated. With a final wave, he used Shunshin to immediately take him out of the chamber.

"Koharu," Hiruzen said softly, drawing her attention. "Send a request to the Daimyo to have him come here whenever he has the opportunity."

"Anything in particular you wish for me to include?" She asked, taking notes on anything Hiruzen was about to say.

"Naruto's history in the village and how he was treated. Everything that transpired with Orochimaru and the details that were described here, and this."

Only Koharu's years as a trained ninja allowed her to turn fast enough and catch what Hiruzen tossed to her. Looking in her hand, she saw a piece of circular wood that had a lotus painted on the front in white ink.

"What's…this?" She asked, somewhat curious.

"He'll know what it means," Hiruzen responded with a smile, thinking of the last time he had seen his old friend. "I'm sure he'll be here within a week once he sees it."

* * *

**Done**

**Alright, so a few things here. **

**First of all, this chapter did feel somewhat weak to me, and I apologize for that. I've done a few rewrites, but I can't really seem to get it to a point where I'm happy with it. Hope you enjoyed anyway, but it's my hope that most chapters will be a bit more captivating.**

**Secondly, the fight finishing with Orochimaru. I know it's incredibly anti-climactic, but not everything can end with a well-fought battle. I didn't want to kill off Orochimaru just yet, and he knew he needed to get out before too much more time passed. Also, Manda's father should just outright annihilate him since he would be able to sense him with nature chakra, and he's just outright larger to boot. I always imagined the fight being incredibly one-sided, which is why it's so short.**

**Third, the situation with the teams. I purposely threw in the bit with the Hokage and clan heads speaking to give you an idea of what to expect. If you don't like the idea, sorry, but that's what I'm going to stick with.**

**Next, I decided to obviously go ahead and start writing in the girls having feelings for him. I feel 11 is around the right age, especially with what he has done for them. I imagine they would also mature a bit quicker than most others as well. Gaara knows through observation and unintentional eavesdropping. Naruto is still honestly oblivious for the time being.**

**Finally, the Daimyo. If you can't guess that he's going to be someone different than in Canon, then you probably haven't seen the series the character will be from. You can expect him to be introduced in the next chapter. I always pictured him as a good political figure, so I've decided to write him in as one. **

**This will be the last update likely until the New Year, so hopefully it will keep most of you satisfied until I get more time in to write. **

**See you all next chapter!**


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